A Friend In Need
by Basmathgirl
Summary: Set sometime after JE, the Doctor has lost his memory, but fortunately he meets Donna. Or is that unfortunately?
1. Chapter 1

**Prompt Words:** Night, secret, sadness, hurt

**Summary:** Sometime after JE the Doctor has lost his memory, but fortunately he meets Donna. Or is that unfortunately?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own these characters, but I think they are a lot of fun!

**A/N:** Written for the Big Bang challenge at bbcland.

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><p><strong>A Friend In Need<strong>

**Part 1**

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The day didn't start off too badly. Donna had woken on time, Sylvia had grumbled at her much, Gramps had left all his flask clutter in the sink, and her bus for work had arrived on time. In the great scheme of things it wasn't an important day, but for her it was almost diary noteworthy.

Inevitably there wasn't a spare seat on the bus, so she held on tight to the rail at the back of a double seat idly running scenarios through her head as to what she would say when that pervert Frank Henderson deemed to cross her path again! It was then that she realised she was being watched by a man seated three feet away; and quite keenly too. She turned in his direction, and was gladdened to see him blush and dip his head, breaking eye contact. She smiled ruefully to herself; he didn't look too bad. There was something about him that was awfully familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what.

The bus drew up to her usual stop then and she waded her way through commuters to get off. To her surprise the man was now standing next to her on the pavement, looking around agitatedly. It was as his face turned properly in her direction that she recognised him. "Excuse me, but aren't you John?" she asked him. "You came to our house the night of the planets."

"Did I?" he asked in return. "Oh yes!" he cried as recognition bloomed on his face. "You're Wilf's granddaughter, aren't you? Hello again!" He thrust out his hand, so she shook it with some slight embarrassment. "I'd been wondering where I knew you from."

They smiled at each other with some apprehension. "Do you work round here?" she asked, as she noted with some mild amusement that he hadn't let go of her hand yet.

"Hoping to," he admitted. "I've come for a job interview." He pulled a momentarily demented face. "I'm buggered if they don't ignore the problems I've been having lately."

"Problems?" she echoed, suddenly feeling some sympathy for him.

"Yeah, since that night we met I've been having problems with my memory; it's been a bit hit and miss. They reckon it's got something to do with that nasty business," he confessed in lowered tones.

"No!" she exclaimed. "Would you believe I've been having similar problems?" They shared a common commiserating look. "Perhaps we ought to compare notes some time; see if we're affected in the same way."

His eyes lit up. "I'd love to… that is… if you want to, but if you don't…"

She halted his stammering by placing a hand on his arm. "Will you still be here lunchtime? We could easily meet up if you like."

"Yes! Yes, that'd be brilliant," he enthused. "Can I take your mobile number just in case things go wrong and I have to cancel?" He pulled out his phone, and punched in the number she gave him.

"See you later then," she said, and gave him a small wave as they went their separate ways.

Donna was quite disappointed when he sent her a text message to say he was having to undergo some more interviews and wouldn't be able to get away to meet her for lunch. She'd texted back, saying something along the lines of "never mind, perhaps another time" clearly expecting to never hear from him again. It was to her delight that she received a text message during the afternoon tea break suggesting he meet her after work instead and go for a celebratory drink of some sort.

A small flurry of text messages followed as they sought to arrange a meeting place, and it was finally decided upon to meet outside WHSmiths, near the bus stop. Nice and convenient should they be stood up. She hoped to goodness that he wouldn't stand her up, as that would be beyond embarrassing.

Fortunately he was there ready and waiting for her, looking anxiously at any woman that walked in his direction, and enabling her to smirk in delight; especially when he eventually saw her observing him. They grinned self-consciously at each other as they tried to decide where to go next, and they bartered with a great deal of embarrassment before giggling together nervously. "We must sound like a couple of teenagers!" Donna noted when yet another suggestion was dismissed. "Are you actually hungry?"

"Not just hungry; I'm starving," he readily admitted, so they headed for the nearest carvery by mutual agreement.

"Are you really going to eat all that?" wondered Donna as she watched him stack his plate up with vegetables from the choice on offer. "Blimey!"

He eyed her minuscule-in-comparison portion with contempt. "Some of us work up an appetite," he answered in hurt tones. "Why don't you let someone else mind your figure for a change?"

"Is that an offer?" she cheekily asked him, and got the blush she wanted in reply. Oh yes! She still had it!

They sat and happily munched away for some minutes before their conversation started up again. They exchanged tales of their bad memories, but Donna was shocked how far John had fallen. "Yeah, waking up not knowing who you were or where you came from was awful," he confessed in a small voice. "The police were really good to me, and they sorted out help that led to me starting my life afresh…"

Donna placed a consoling hand over his. "I'm so sorry, John. I know exactly what you must have gone through at times."

He tried to shrug the emotion off, but Donna wasn't fooled. "I got some of it back. I managed to remember _you_," he said, giving her a reluctant smile. "I just wish I could get some more of the rest back."

"Me too," she soothed him. "At least your new job means you can start building new memories now."

He returned her smile gratefully and turned his hand over to lightly grasp hers on the table. "Things are starting to look up at last in my life. Donna… I know this will sound stupid, or maybe not considering you know how it goes, but I feel meeting you is really important; like we might have known each other before all the…erm… trouble."

Donna gave his hand a squeeze. "I think you're right. Weird isn't it? We could always ask Gramps if he knows whether or not we did. This feels a bit like playing detectives! Solving a mystery together," she told him gleefully.

They left the carvery hand in hand later; it seemed the natural choice to do so, even when they got on the bus home. "Did you want to come in and meet Gramps? Or are you going straight home?" Donna anxiously asked before they reached her stop.

"To be honest, I'm in no hurry to get back to my lodgings, so yes; yes, I'll come home with you if that's alright!" the John brightly replied.

"Of course it's alright," she answered. "Come on then! This is our stop!" She hauled him out of his seat, tinged the bell, and led him off the bus. "Changed your mind?" she asked him as they watched the bus disappear into the distance.

He swung their hands between them. "Nah! This feels right. I don't understand why it does, but I'm loving the fact it does," he told her.

"Me too!" she enthused. "I can feel that we're going to be good friends!"

Donna felt that way right up until they stepped through the front door and were greeted by Sylvia. Though 'greeted' is a very loose term for Sylvia's reaction.

"Donna! What on earth are you thinking of bringing _that_ man into this house?" Sylvia had demanded.

"What do you mean?" Donna had innocently answered. "Mum! I asked him back here to come and meet Gramps."

"Well your grandfather is up on the hill, so take him up there," Sylvia had insisted, much to Donna's embarrassment and disgust.

"I'm really sorry about this," she had whispered as they trudged along in the dark towards the allotments. "Whatever must you think of us?"

He draped a placating arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Donna. I seem to get lots of extreme reactions out of people. Did I tell you? Just last week some woman ran up to me in the street and tried to hug me as though she knew me, but when I asked who I was she clammed up and wouldn't say another word!"

"How weird!" She wrapped an arm around his waist, and tried to draw him closer. "Did you find out anything about her?"

"Erm…," he thought carefully. "She had quite an old fashioned name… Martha! That was her name! Or that's what she told me anyway. She said I'd met her family."

"And you've no way of knowing whether you have or haven't," Donna guessed correctly. "Oh John! You poor thing!" She reached up to caress his cheek. "I'll help you find out if you like," she offered in hushed tones.

They'd stopped walking and now stood under the soft beam of an amber streetlight. "I'm so glad I found you," he whispered. "You already make all of this much more bearable."

They gazed at each other expectantly and intensely, trying to work out the feelings of the other as they shifted closer together. His joint need and hesitation were tangible, so Donna moved her hand to the back of his head and gently encouraged him to tip forward. She lifted up her chin so that his lips could land on hers easily, and he happily complied.

Their kiss was a soft touch at first; the merest whisper of a kiss as though they were unsure of the process. Then they pressed slightly harder, keeping their lips locked together as though they were testing out the springiness of a mattress, almost bouncing against each other.

He brought a hand up to hold her head in place, weaving his fingers into her ginger hair, close to her scalp. Little shards of aromas wafted up to him as he did so; odours that sparked memories of being accepted and cared for. Memories that seemed to surprisingly be about Donna. The emotional punch hit him as they deepened their kiss, using the coldness of the night air as their excuse to crush one another closer.

"I just thought," he remarked as they pulled apart. "That Martha woman… I'm sure she mentioned someone called Donna. Yes, I'm sure she did! She sounded really concerned that you weren't with me."

"How strange!" Donna commented. "What do you think this might mean?"

"Well..," he began, and coughed nervously. "I think we might have been having an affair judging by what she said."

"No!" Donna gasped in disbelief. "Really? An affair? But you've got no wedding ring or anything… and I can't imagine me doing such a thing. I truly can't!"

He tried to bring back all of the memory of his strange encounter with this Martha. "She expected me to be with some other woman, but she kept mentioning you. Now what exactly did she say again… I suppose it's possible that the other woman is a relative of mine, and you are my… Answer me honestly, Donna. Do I feel like your husband?"

"I'm sure Mum would have said you're my husband if you were. She seemed to know you, but I don't get the feeling we're married. Though she was nowhere near being happy to see you. Perhaps you're a cheating ex-boyfriend? Or we really are having an affair…" She gasped in horror at him. "What did I become?"

He sought to console her then with his kisses. He had no idea what the truth was, but he was determined to find out; for both their sakes. "I think we'd better get up the hill and talk to your grandfather pretty sharpish, don't you?" he pondered. "Once we've finished doing this… obviously."

Strange how neither of them were in a rush to go and quiz Wilf…

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><p><strong>.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

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They broke reluctantly apart. Donna immediately wondered if her nose would drop off due to the cold. "I suppose we'd better go and find Gramps," she whispered self-consciously. The still night air made any sound seem louder than it really was.

"Yeah," John answered distractedly. "What were we going to do again?"

"Ask Gramps what he knows about us in the past, you prawn!" she softly chided him. "I thought you wanted to know."

"If we're secretly married I'd like a minute or two to recover from the shock," he playfully added.

"We're not a couple," Donna automatically replied, and looked back at him horror struck. "Why did I say that?"

"I don't know," he said slowly, "but I must admit to having a similar compulsion! Donna, this is getting creepy!"

"I know!" She threw her arms around his neck in an attempt to console him. "We'll work this out; I promise we will. We have each other now."

He hugged her closer, burying his face in the scent of her hair. "Thank God for that! I feel like I've been waiting for you. Is that stupid?"

"Not as stupid as your hairstyle," she teased him and was grateful to get a small chuckle in reply.

"Donna? Is that you?" Wilf called out when he saw a familiar figure making its way towards him on the blanket. "And who's this with you?"

"Yes, Gramps! I've come to keep you company for a while, and I've brought someone to meet you," Donna called back as she stepped into the warm glow his camp fire was giving off in the desolate allotment. "I've brought your old friend John with me." She tugged on his hand in order to bring him into the light as well. "We found each other on the bus this morning."

Wilf gasped as he recognised the Doctor standing before him. His pulse rate picked up while his mind went into overdrive trying to work out why he was standing there risking Donna's health and if he was going to fix things for her. "Hello D.. John," he stuttered out, accepting the handshake John was offering him. "I've not seen you in a while. Do you have some important news for me?"

"I… erm… I don't think so, Wilf," John admitted with some confusion. He glanced at Donna. "In fact we were sort of hoping you'd have some news for _us_!"

Wilf looked at the two of them in bewilderment. "Why would I do that then?" he asked.

Donna pulled John down to sit on the blanket next to her and Wilf's telescope. "The thing is, Gramps, John has had a bit of an accident."

"Has he?" Wilf asked with concern.

"Yes; one similar to mine, meaning that he has suffered some memory loss," continued Donna.

"You don't say!" Wilf exclaimed in shock.

"What Donna is trying to say is that ever since we accidentally met on the bus this morning we've been feeling there's something between us," John added.

"Aye aye! Like that is it?" Wilf declared with glee as he took in the fact they were clasping each other's hand in desperation, and their answering blush.

"Gramps! We need to know. Please! What do me and John mean to each other?" Donna hesitantly asked. "Are we married or something? 'Cos it feels like it's something like that, but we can't put our finger on what exactly and both of our memories are shot to pieces!"

She looked at him pleadingly, and he didn't have the heart to keep lying to her. "As far as I know, you're not married, love; though you could have snuck off and done that at some point, judging by the way… Listen, the pair of you. All I know for definite is that you were good mates before all that business. What happened to you, lad?"

John's determined demeanour crumpled, and Donna held onto him tightly. "I don't know, Wilf. I only remember waking up on the street with a policeman standing over me, and not knowing where I was, what I was doing there, or who the hell I was."

"It's alright, John," Donna crooned at him. "It's getting better every day."

He smiled wanly back at her. "It'll get even better now I've got you," he mumbled.

She cradled his face and tenderly kissed him. He embraced her and returned her kiss with enthusiasm.

Wilf could hardly believe his eyes at this demonstration of affection. The Doctor and Donna had only ever held hands in front of him before, and that had been surreptitiously. Which begged the question: what did they really get up to when they were out of his sight? For all he knew they could have sloped off and got married on some planet or other. The Doctor had been pretty cut up when he'd brought Donna home that fateful night… But what about that blonde girl who'd shown up looking for him? What had happened to her? Was their mutual 'accident' down to her in some way? She'd been carrying a flipping big gun after all. Perhaps he'd ask Sylvia what she had noticed when he got the chance later.

For the time being he had to contend with his Donna acting like the Doctor… oops, got to call him John for the time being… was the love of her life. "Do you two mind if I make my way back down and have a fresh cup of tea?" Wilf asked them as he wondered if they'd actually notice he was there or not. He got his answer when they pulled coyly slightly apart.

"Gramps, you said we were good mates," Donna began to ask, "but John introduced himself to me that night. Why did he do that? And when did we really meet?"

"Ooh, let me think," Wilf blustered, hoping against hope that a decent story would come to mind. "You'd already had your accident when John turned up at the house to see you, and you didn't know him from Adam. That hurt him, sweetheart! As for when you met, I think it might have been someone's wedding. Don't most people meet at them these days?" He hoped he'd covered himself enough with that.

John and Donna contemplated each other. "That sounds about right," John admitted. "I wish I knew whose wedding it was though. And I can't think about your accident without feeling this deep sense of… who am I kidding? It kills me to think of you being so badly injured!"

"But do you remember any of that time?" Donna asked him softly.

He sadly shook his head in reply. "I only know the feeling; I've got nothing to go with it."

She smiled encouragingly at him. "Never mind. We'll worry about that tomorrow, shall we? We'll have a nice warming cup of tea."

"I wonder if Sylvia is still up?" pondered Wilf; and the question acted like a bucket of cold water on the pair in front of him.

Donna reached forward and touched Wilf's arm. "Gramps? Why doesn't Mum like John? What on earth did he do that's so terrible that she acted so mean towards him earlier?" she asked him.

"Oh that? She's always been a bit like that. You know what your mother's like. But as for John here, well, he erm… caused you to dent the car or something if I've got that right. Something about bad parking. And he stuck up for you when your mum was ranting once." Wilf gave a chuckle as he remembered the Doctor putting Sylvia in her place. "She didn't take too kindly to that."

"So I didn't cheat on Donna or mess her about?" John asked cautiously. "I wasn't a horrible boyfriend?"

"Who told you that you were?" demanded Wilf before he could help himself. "No lad! You've always treated our Donna well, as if you thought the world of her…" His voice faltered as he thought of how devastated the Doctor had been when he'd said goodbye in the rain that night. "Come on, I'm getting cold and there's a cup of tea with my name on it waiting in the kitchen."

On that note they packed away Wilf's equipment, folded up the blanket, and made their way back down the hill to the warmth of the Noble kitchen below.

"Dad? You're back early!" greeted them as they stepped through the kitchen door. Then Sylvia appeared in her dressing gown scowling at them in the harsh kitchen light. "YOU again!" she cried as she noticed John standing there. "I thought you'd seen sense and gone by now!"

"Sylvia, don't start!" Wilf warned her. "John here has been through a lot recently and he doesn't need you picking on him again. Which you won't if you know which side your bread is buttered. Donna met him on the bus today by sheer accident, and I invited him back here." He stood in front of her until she visibly backed down. "That's better; perhaps we can have that cup of tea I promised now."

Sylvia cautiously flicked her eyes towards John as she filled the kettle. "What sort of thing has he been through then?" she asked in a low voice.

"He had an accident similar to our Donna and lost part of his memory. He hardly remembers a thing," Wilf pointedly told her.

"Oh!" she exclaimed and turned her attention onto John. "What sort of thing do you remember?"

"Not much, to be honest," John sheepishly confessed. "I only realised I knew Donna before when we were talking earlier this evening." He flushed a delightful pink when he considered what they had been doing when that snippet came to him. "It did make us wonder though…"

"What did it make you wonder?" she couldn't help asking.

He spluttered in his embarrassment, so Donna took over. "We wondered if we were married at some point."

"_Married_?" Sylvia cried out involuntarily. "Over my dead body!"

"Mum!" Donna cried out. "What is so wrong with him? I don't understand!"

Wilf was giving Sylvia a 'don't you dare!' look as she fought for a relevant answer. "Well… he… erm… he… stopped you looking for a proper husband and a decent job," she gingerly answered. It was partly true; just not completely!

"And how exactly did he do that? Tell me," Donna ordered her, striking a hands on hips pose as she stepped protectively in front of John.

"I don't know the details, do I? Everyone assumed you were with him, and you were too busy messing about to do anything properly. You didn't tell me very much," she added.

"That's not surprising considering how welcoming you've been!" Donna almost shot venom at her.

"Donna, you don't have to defend me," John tried to deflect her anger away and ease the situation. "Perhaps I'm a bad influence."

"You a bad influence, lad? Nah!" Wilf insisted.

Both John and Donna smiled with relief back at him. "No, you're not bad," agreed Sylvia. She even forced herself to briefly smile. "Tea anyone?" she asked, and allowed herself to be distracted away from Donna's questions as she bustled about.

As they sat at the kitchen table happily munching biscuits and sipping tea, Donna thought to glance at the clock on the wall. "What time do you have to be back at your lodgings, John?" she thought to ask.

"Oh, about…," he began to reply, giving the clock a check too. "Oh heck! I'm going to get moaned at for being back so late."

Wilf threw Sylvia a pointed look but she was already halfway towards the offer. "You can sleep here the night, if you want."

"Are you sure?" John tried to suppress his relief and glee. "I'd be no bother."

"I know you won't; that's why I'm offering," Sylvia remarked. "I'll finish my tea then I'll go and set up the bed in the spare room."

"Thanks, Mum," Donna said gratefully; but Sylvia merely shrugged her shoulders in reply as though it wasn't a big deal.

Wilf's eyes shone with pride and contentment.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

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By the time John reached the spare bedroom, the bed had been given fresh sheets, a new duvet cover, and a spare pair of pyjamas to sit on the bed. He hadn't felt so welcome anywhere since he'd been aware of his memory loss, and he had to fight hard to dampen down his emotions at not being alone anymore.

Sylvia even managed to rustle up for him a spare toothbrush. "Oh it's nothing," she'd insisted when he had tried to show his gratitude. "Anyone would have done the same."

But John knew in his gut that anyone wouldn't have done. He'd shared a very brief kiss goodnight with Donna on the landing and then had settled down to sleep, feeling decidedly good for a change.

That feeling faded away when his nightmare started. He was standing in what looked like an airport, and he was watching on a TV screen a building that was on fire; except he knew Donna was in there. He beat the screen demanding someone help her; save her; even offering to take her place! But all he felt in return was contempt from whoever had caused the blaze, and pain from the knowledge he would never ever see Donna again.

He woke screaming for her, and as he did so he realised that she was screaming too in the distance. Without thinking he leapt out of bed and ran to her, as she ran towards him in return. They met at Donna's bedroom door, meeting halfway between their beds. They clasped one another in their fright, and tried to explain their predicament; both speaking at the same time.

"I had a nightmare! You were in a building that was on fire" he spluttered in fear. "I thought I'd lost you. The flames were getting higher and you were dying."

"I had a nightmare! I was in a building that was on fire" Donna cried out simultaneously. "I thought I'd lost you. The flames were getting higher and I was dying."

They stared at each other in shock at their synchronised tale. Without thinking or knowing why, he reached up and touched her temples with the tips of his fingers. The world around him whirled away to be replaced by her thoughts and feelings. A distinct image burst into his mind, and he staggered back in surprise.

"I was there in the flames! I was completely naked!" he gasped.

At the same time Donna remarked, "You were there in the flames! You were completely naked!"

"Care to explain that one, you two?" demanded Sylvia as she observed them from her open bedroom door. The Doctor hadn't mentioned Donna saving the universe with him being stark-naked of all things!

John swung towards her. "I er… I… I have no idea why I was naked. Honest I don't!" he declared as innocently as he could.

"Don't look at me, 'cos I don't know either!" Donna testily added to her mother.

Sylvia glanced between the two of them, and then decided to dismiss whatever her protest was, since you can't argue with memory loss; as she knew all too well. "It's getting late. If you're going to have nightmares, try not to wake the whole house up in future, please," she sniffily requested and went back into her own room; taking care not to completely shut the door. She didn't want to miss anything important, did she?

Donna saw the trick for what it was. She indicated with her eyes for John to follow her into her room. She gently closed the door, making sure it was tight shut, before whispering to him. "That was weird, huh?"

"I'll say!" he whispered back. "Do we take from that dream that you lost your memory in a fire, and I somehow lost my clothes at the same time? At least we found something out, I suppose."

"Yeah; I can't think of that place without…" She began to tremble in fright, and he instinctively reached out to comfort her.

"It's okay now. We don't have to go back there," he soothed her, holding her tightly and stroking her hair. A thought struck him. "Don't you think it's strange that I don't have any burns even though I lost my clothes?"

"Very strange now you mention it. Still, I know what you look like in the buff now," Donna teased him with an evil gleam.

"Hey! That's not fair!" he protested. "Not when I don't…" His gaze slipped down to her body, and he blushed with the realisation.

"Ah, but how do we know that, when we suspect we were lovers," she argued.

He did a vague head waving motion. "Seems unfair if I don't get to know though," he murmured as Donna laughed at him quietly.

"I'm glad you didn't see _that_ image!" Her laughing stopped when she let out an, "Ow!" She rubbed her side, and commented, "That felt just like when I was pregnant."

"When were you pregnant?" he immediately asked.

"I have no idea," she gasped back. "But…" She held onto his arm for support, and blanched. "A daughter… and a son! We had a daughter and a son!"

"Did we?" He looked as shocked as she felt.

She staggered a bit, and he ably caught her. "Yes," she said in a tiny voice. "But we lost them; both of them."

He looked knocked for six. "How could we have had children and your mum and grandfather not say anything? Are you sure?" he quizzed her.

So many tiny images danced round her head; mocking her. "Do that thing again and find out," she told him.

"The erm..," he answered, holding up his hands in demonstration. "Okay then." Hesitantly he leant forward and placed his fingertips on her head once more; shutting his eyes in the process. The same feeling that was like jumping into a pool of water hit him, as he was bombarded with pictures.

"Well?" she asked. "Do you see them?"

"Yes!" he replied in hushed tones. "I saw two tiny babies, then two small children; but the bizarre thing is that I saw them grown up. She was very fair whilst he was dark like me."

He'd clearly described what she had seen, for ages now; except she now understood what the connection was better. "So I'm not going mad? I've had flashes of them before but I didn't piece it together until now. Do you think we could have been brainwashed?" she asked him.

He pondered that thought for a while. "It's possible… I mean, you hear of such things but you never believe it could happen," he replied. "But for the record; you're not going mad."

"Thanks," she mumbled with a sniff; then the tears started. "I feel so stupid but I miss them. How can I miss children I never had?"

"Oh Donna!" He enclosed her in another comforting hug, and kissed her forehead. "We could have you examined by a doctor to find out if you have actually given birth… though I think I know what to look for…"

"No you don't, Sunshine!" She glared at him momentarily. "We are NOT playing doctors and nurses so that you can get some sort of kick; as much as you'd like to."

Doctors and nurses suddenly sounded like a lot of fun! "But you've seen me naked," he argued, giving her a cheeky wink.

She couldn't help smirking back at him. How did he manage to wipe away any bad feelings she had by distracting her? Especially when he turned saucy? It was if she desperately wanted him to.

"Get back to bed, mister!" she playfully ordered him. "Anybody would think it had been a good experience seeing you in the buff."

"It can be again, if you play your cards right," he retorted. "And I only think it fair that you reciprocate." He said the word 'reciprocate' as though it was absolutely delicious on his tongue.

She giggled nervously at him. "Are you sure that'd be a good idea? We wouldn't want to ruin your eyesight just when you've bagged yourself a new job."

"What's the point of having eyes if you can't use them for the things you love," he mused.

"Love?" she questioned him.

He gave a small cough. "Did I say that? Surely I didn't say that. Nope, don't think so."

"Okay, you didn't. You're off the hook. Now go get some sleep before you get me into trouble," she told him.

"According to your vision I've already done that; twice! Or am about to…" He smiled mischievously at her as he drew her closer for a kiss. "I might as well get my money's worth."

"You might get your block knocked off if Mum finds you in here," she managed to say after a couple of minutes. She'd let him put forward part of his argument, in all fairness.

"I think my head is safe," he commented, touching his throat to check it was still there. "Why did you invite me in here? I think you had an ulterior motive, Donna Noble," he said breathily next to her ear, sending goosebumps down her spine.

"You won't get around me that easily, John Smith! I'm made of sterner stuff, and you have to get up in the morning for work," she reasoned.

"I do?" he asked as he kissed his way along her jawline. "Oh yes, I do. What a shame."

She stepped back from him, but held onto his hand. "Yes, it is a shame. We're in no hurry where 'we' are concerned."

He brought her hand up to his lips and tenderly kissed her fingertips. "No hurry at all," he confirmed. "Good night, my lovely Donna."

"Good night, John," she said placing a last kiss upon his lips. "I think you're quite lovely too."

With a reluctant backwards glance he left her room; under the watchful eye of Sylvia, who went to bed with her own thoughts.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

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John grabbed Donna before she disappeared into the bathroom. "How about…," he began to schmooze her, "we skip going to work today, and try to find this Martha woman?"

"But, what would I say to the office?" Donna pondered, finding herself falling under his charms.

"Tell them you have to sort some personal stuff out," he suggested. "What? It's personal! Very personal, as it happens."

She batted at his chest. "That makes it sound like I'm having particular issues, like a husband who has gone off with another woman, or I'm seeing a therapist!"

He drew her close to murmur in her ear, "We could pretend I'm your husband if you like; and if you don't come and investigate the whereabouts of Martha I may be forced to take you to task."

"What on earth does that mean exactly? Take me to task indeed! What are you going to do? Put me over your knee and spank me?" she wondered.

His eyes lit up with mischief. "I can do that if you like."

Donna could hardly believe it when his hand brushed over her bottom and then tapped it playfully. "You wouldn't dare!" she exclaimed.

"Are you seriously daring me?" he asked her in low sultry tones.

"Don't you start! Gramps is only on the other side of that door." She pointed to Wilf's bedroom door in emphasis. "Do you really want to upset him?"

"Upsetting him was not the object of the game and you know it! Now answer my original question, Donna Noble. Will you accompany me to the Royal Hope Hospital to see if we can find this Martha woman? If you're not prepared to I'm sure I can find some other ginger beauty to go with me," John told her, with a certain gleam in his eye.

"Oh, all right!" she pretended to huff. "I suppose I'll never hear the end of it if I don't come with you and keep you in line. You'll probably end up busting a gut or falling down between the cracks in the pavement."

"That's what I love about you; you're all heart," he tried to gripe.

"Thanks!" She smiled whimsically at him. "I do my best."

"Hey! Hang on! You let me get away with a compliment. Two in fact! Are you feeling okay?" he asked her.

"Now that you mention it: no! Some tall skinny guy keeps leading me astray," she retorted.

"Make a note of it in your diary, because I'm planning to continue to do so for a few more days," he replied.

She quickly stole a kiss from him. "Only a few days? In that case, I'd better make the most of you while I have you."

"Do I really have to make a joke about having me?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at her; and getting the giggling response he wanted.

* * *

><p>They felt it was best not to tell Sylvia where they were really going when they left the house fifteen minutes later. They got on their usual bus, together, and Donna stood in her usual spot; but it felt entirely different that morning. She grinned with some satisfaction at John standing clutching a rail behind a seat with her.<p>

He leant in close to mumble, "Who would have thought this time yesterday that I would be able to do this?"

"Do what?" she almost managed to ask, just before he pressed a tender kiss onto her lips.

"Now that's what I call a good start to the working day!" He kept close to her, using the number of people on board the bus as an excuse to crush her body up against his.

Donna noticed a few familiar faces she knew from frequently travelling on that particular bus regard her with interest. She had no idea what their names were, or even where exactly they worked; so was able to easily dismiss them. It was only then that she thought to ask, "What were you doing at the Royal Hope?"

"Ah! Do you remember me mentioning the other lodger where I live…? Ben? Well, he decided to have an argument with a hockey stick; and broke his nose in the process," he explained.

"Ew! Sounds painful!" Donna remarked.

"It was also pretty bloody; which reminds me... He still owes me a new shirt, as well as the obvious favour." John gave her a small shrug to add to the effect.

She couldn't resist rubbing the tip of her nose against his. "You're quite the knight in shining armour on the quiet, aren't you?"

"Shall I make a joke about…" he pondered.

"No!" she instantly answered; and gained a chuckle in reply.

They made their way to the Royal Hope in quite good time, and headed towards A&E, hoping something, or someone, would leap out at them. "Now what?" Donna asked him expectantly as they stood just inside the automatic doors near the triage station. "Was she here with someone, or was she just ambulance chasing?"

He smirked back at her. "She was dressed in a white coat, actually! So I'm assuming she works here."

She glared at him. "It would have helped if you'd said that in the first place, you numpty! You're supposed to share information."

"But I am sharing with you! So don't look at me like that… and don't think I don't know what you are trying to do. You can't spook me by using your glare of death, so don't even think about it!" He glared momentarily back at her.

"What glare of death? Are you saying I'd do such a thing?" she asked as she tried to sound innocent.

He huffed at her. "Not only am I saying it; I know it."

She'd just poked her tongue out at him when she heard someone call out her name.

"Donna? Is that you?" Then a woman flung herself at her, taking her breath away. "I never thought I'd see you again! But here you are with the Doctor! How are you?"

Both Donna and John looked around the A&E department to see who this doctor was that the woman was going on about, in the vain hope they'd be rescued from her. "Calm down, love! Do I know you?" Donna asked. She tried desperately to peel the woman off her so that she could both escape and look at who her assailant was.

The woman pulled away from her with a shocked gasp. "Not you as well? He said exactly the same thing when I saw him last week. It was last week, wasn't it? Or have you come here in a different time frame?"

Donna and John shared a 'WTF?' moment briefly with each other. "Whatever you say… I'm sure we can find some sort of answer," Donna replied.

"Erm… Martha, wasn't it? Do I take it that this is the Donna you asked me about? I only met her again yesterday," John added when Martha didn't answer immediately. "We've come here to find you, and ask how you know us."

"What? I think we need to go somewhere and talk about this," Martha eventually said after contemplating them. "I've just got to sort a few things out then I'll be right with you." She indicated some chairs for them to sit down on whilst she went off to deal with some paperwork.

John watched her go with some confusion. "See!" he told Donna in a low whisper. "She's as barmy as a fruitcake."

"Yeah; with added nuts. She certainly seems to think she knows us though," Donna commented in return. "It can't do us any harm to find out what her story is, can it?"

"No," he agreed. "So… what shall we do while we're waiting? Got a chessboard on you?"

"Sorry, I thought you said 'chest' then," she told him with a giggle.

"I didn't say it, but I can't guarantee I didn't think it," he quipped.

She swatted his arm. "You are awful!"

"I'll have you know I'm very good… at what I do…" He playfully teased her by capturing her lips in a tender kiss; seeking to deepen it when she allowed him to.

"Not here!" she tried to caution him. "This is a place full of sick people."

"One of who might be talking to us very soon," he countered. "Can't a dying man have a last wish?"

"I'd agree and say 'yes', if you were actually dying; but you look far too healthy for that," she argued, eyeing him up and down. "Just behave yourself, or I shall have to sit you on the naughty step."

"Aw, Donna!" he deliberately whined. "You spoil all my fun!"

She smirked at him. "Play your cards right, John, and I might not be spoiling your fun but merely delaying it."

He grinned triumphantly back at her before dipping his head to whisper into her ear, "Where were you planning on providing this fun later? I could offer some suggestions if you like."

Donna readied herself to make some pithy quip when the Martha woman reappeared in front of them, looking decidedly offended. "Would you follow me, please," she ordered them.

They stole a 'what's the matter with her?' look with each other and mutely got up and followed Martha's advancing back. She clearly expected them to trot along behind her like good little children… or patients; they couldn't decide. John couldn't resist playfully nudging Donna's shoulder, so she nudged him in return; causing them both to try and quell their laughter as their footsteps squeaked along the hospital corridor. Martha eventually led them into a small consulting room, with an air of resigned disappointment, and shut the door. "What are you two playing at?" she demanded as she strode passed them and sat down behind the desk.

"What do you mean?" John replied in confusion. He drew Donna down to sit next to him in front of the desk. "You spoke to us first!"

Martha carefully considered them, steepling her fingers as she thought. "Are you seriously saying that you are unaware of your behaviour here in the hospital; and towards one another? You are acting like you are…"

"Well? Spit it out!" Donna cried. "I take it we are doing something wrong in your eyes though goodness knows what or why we should care seeing as we don't know you from Adam, but you plainly think you know us!"

"Donna!" Martha huffed angrily. "You don't do this sort of thing; not you two!"

"Then you'd better explain in words of two syllables or less what is so flipping wrong because as far as I'm concerned we're being told off for doing nothing!" Donna protested.

"Too right, love!" John agreed with her. "We want answers, Martha; or whatever your name is. And we want them now!"

Martha frowned at them. "Are both of you suffering from memory loss?"

"Yes," Donna answered cautiously.

"And you met only yesterday according to what you said earlier…" She waited for them to nod in agreement. "But you are sitting here, holding hands, calling each other 'love', and kissing in the waiting room."

"So? It's not exactly against the law, is it?" demanded John. "You say all that as though it's a bad thing."

Martha sighed, and shifted in her seat. "Don't you see that in some respects it is? You two aren't supposed to do this."

"Of all the cheek!" Donna exploded at her. "Who are you to say what we can and cannot do to each other? You make it sound like we are brother and sister or something; and I assure you we are nothing of the sort!"

Martha visibly tried to calm herself down. She had to tell herself that the reason she was so angry was to do with the wellbeing of the two people in front of her and had nothing to do with the fact they had suddenly rushed into a romantic relationship. After some moments she spoke. "I think I need to bring in my colleague to consult regarding this matter."


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

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"Fine! Bring in whoever you flipping like! Just tell us how you know us," John retorted, and sat back in a huff to glare openly at Martha.

Donna turned to console him, gently stroking his face with the backs of her fingertips. "John, darling; getting angry won't help us solve this mystery. I understand, I really do! But please, for both our sakes, don't make her too angry."

Keeping his eyes only on her, he replied, "You're right, love. We don't want this to spoil what we have together." He caught her hand, rubbed his thumbs delicately over her wrist and kissed her fingers. He would have gone further, but Martha suddenly made a choking sound that distracted his attention.

"Sorry," Martha said with a strangled voice, and then she leant forward, picked up the desk phone to dial a number and spoke into it. "We have a situation here," she told someone on the other end, and replaced the receiver. She then coolly asked Donna, "By what name do you know the man sitting here?"

"I'm sorry; do you not know us after all? Perhaps we should leave?" Both Donna and John stood up as one as she spoke.

"Why don't you stay as you are," suggested an American male voice from behind them. A tall, dark-haired man with intense blue eyes stepped into their field of vision. He wore a dark uniform and a matching overcoat. "Let me introduce myself; I'm Jack Harkness. I work with Martha here."

Donna and John eyed him suspiciously. "I suppose you are going to tell us that the CIA is involved in our memory loss next," John scoffed. "Right after you tell us they haven't got Big Ears because Noddy paid the ransom."

Jack fought hard to keep his amusement in, and managed to win, much to his relief. "I can help you, sir; both you and Donna." He perched himself on the edge of Martha's desk, facing them as they sat down again on the cold, oddly red-coloured plastic chairs. "Tell me what happened to you."

John glanced at Donna, as if asking permission. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze, mouthing 'go on'; so he soldiered on, explaining how he had woken up with no memory of who or where he was, nor why he was lying in the street. Then he told this man how he had accidentally ran into Donna after travelling on the same bus as her; and the connection they had felt from the moment they had spoken together. "And now we're being told that we shouldn't feel anything for each other! So we'd be delighted if you'd explain why," he said sarcastically. "Since we're here and all."

"John… may I call you 'John'? The truth is that you and Donna are friends, just friends and have never been anything else. You weren't meant to be together like this," Jack began to explain, spreading out his hands to encompass the scene before him.

"Is that it? Because we already know the 'friends' bit from Wilf!" John protested with disgust. "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't go off right this second and… well, never you mind what Donna and I would do."

There was much calming waving of hands done in answer. "Please, let me reassure you that you do not normally behave in this way," Jack insisted. "For the sake of Donna I can't say more than that at the moment."

"Hang on! You're using ME as your excuse not to explain anything?" Donna huffily demanded.

"Yes. That's why I'm going to do this…," Jack told her as he leant forward, pressing something onto her neck; and she instantly dropped like a stone onto the floor. Jack then checked her breathing to confirm she was unconscious as he was almost deafened by the cry beside him, right in his ear.

"Donna? Donna! You bastard! What have you done to her?" John wailed loudly as he landed gracefully by her side, and held her limp body against him. "No! Get away from her! Don't you dare touch her!" he shouted. "Oh Donna!" he softly cried into her hair. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"

"Tell him, Jack," Martha urged him.

John turned deeply sad and accusing, large brown eyes onto Jack. "Well?"

Jack gave a nervous cough. "John, the thing is... you're not really called John Smith. Your real name is the Doctor, and Donna is not your girlfriend but your companion."

John looked at Jack as if he had two heads. "Are you mad? Or do you think I am? Seriously? Do people ever swallow that line?"

Jack and Martha tried hard not to look at each other in question. "It's not a line, Doctor," Jack insisted. "I've brought a folder to show you." He produced a thick folder, opened it and brought out some photographs. He fanned them out across the desk to tempt John from Donna's side.

John momentarily faltered, but he kept a constant vigil as though he had instantly rumbled what Jack was trying to achieve; which he probably had! "What's that? Your porn collection?" John asked testily.

Jack quirked an eyebrow at him and grinned. "These are stills from footage of your time with Donna," he explained. He picked one out in a carefully orchestrated random action. "You see this one…," he held it up in illustration; "…this one was you and her standing outside a factory as some UNIT soldiers arrived."

John peered at it from his lowly position on the floor cuddling Donna. "That's a lie for a start!" he protested. "Look at the lighting. See! We were standing inside the confines of the factory doors, the soldiers had not just arrived since they'd been there questioning the workers for some hours; and most importantly, Donna and I were holding hands!"

"You were?" Jack swivelled the photo within his grasp to view it closely. The photo showed the Doctor and Donna facing each other, and Jack could not see what the argument was. "Are you sure?" he finally asked.

"Of course I am!" John told him indignantly. "We were holding hands as Donna was winding me up about going home! I was... Well, I was trying to persuade her to stay with me if you must know."

"Why would you do that, John?" Martha gently asked him.

"Because... Because I didn't want her to leave me. Why would I want her to do that, for goodness sake? We'd already been through a lot at that point," he explained.

"Were you married?" she continued to ask.

"Don't let Donna hear you say that!" He burst out laughing. "She always hates when that happens; you know that! She...she..." He scowled at them. "That was low. Bloody low! You have no idea what went on between us, so don't pretend you do."

"Can I call you 'Doctor'? Do you accept the title now?" Jack pondered. "Or are you sticking to 'John'?"

John dipped his head in defeat. "Call me whatever you want," he mumbled. "Just leave us alone. Please."

But Jack felt he had to persist with his line of questioning. "Do you know what happened to Donna? I mean, the real reason why you were parted."

John's head shot up! "What do you mean?" he demanded. "Are you trying to imply it was my fault? That we were parted because I did something wrong? I would never harm Donna!"

"Then why were you parted? Do you know?" Martha asked delicately.

"I Erm... I... No, I don't," he admitted in a small voice. "We were having the best time of our lives and then it stopped. Why did it stop?" His eyes rose to beseech them both.

Martha stepped over to check on Donna's vital signs and whether she was still out cold before she answered. "Donna suffered a change that she wasn't able to contain, and instead of completely frying her brain her memory was smothered to save her life."

"What? Why would somebody do that to her?" He tenderly stroked the sleeping Donna's hair. "I can't understand why I would let something that awful happen to her."

"How long have you loved her?" Martha found herself asking. "When did it begin?"

He gave a small, wry laugh. "Too long ago to remember; and I am aware of the irony of that statement... But I knew by the time we kiss-" He pulled himself up short then. "Why do you want to know?" he asked in an accusatory voice.

"You keep insisting you were in love but we _knew_ you back then. Martha certainly knew you both together and you never said anything existed beyond friendship," Jack informed him. "Doctor, do you think you are both now being more than a bit delusional?"

"No!" he half gasped and half sobbed. "You're just trying to take her away from me. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me, so what is your problem exactly? Don't you think I'm good enough for her?"

"No, it isn't anything like that," Jack tried to sooth him. "But you could be dangerous for her state of mind... And then there's the question of Rose."

"Pardon? What arose? I'm not following you," John admitted and looked blankly back at him. "Did I miss something?"

Jack sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. "Any ideas, Martha? How do I continue with this one?"

"What do you remember before meeting Donna?" Martha tried asking John. "Back before you were friends-but-not-friends, I mean."

John seemed startled by the question. "I don't know," he said hesitantly. "Was I with a touring theatre company or something?"

"It's possible," Jack told him kindly. "Listen, John; I'd like to take you both somewhere to get you checked out, make sure you're both okay before I let you go home and leave you alone once and for all. Would you be up for that?"

"It would be in a proper facility at our request," Martha added. "We'd like to make sure you haven't suffered any adverse effects of this, and then you'd be on your way; the pair of you."

"I'm not sure... I'd have to wait until Donna can answer for herself," John replied suspiciously.

"No problem," Martha answered quickly. She picked up the desk telephone again, dialled and told the person on the other end, "Doctor John Smith and Donna Noble will need the room we arranged to rest for a while. Can you get it ready, please?" She nodded a couple of times before thanking whoever she was talking to. "I'll give Donna a booster shot, and then someone will be along to show you to our waiting lounge."

John was astonished to see her draw out a syringe from the desk drawer, and then administer it within seconds to Donna. He turned to make some pithy remark to the man, but he'd completely disappeared through a fastly closing door.

"I'll give you both about an hour. I hope that will be long enough," Martha told him without much emotion, and then calmly got up and left them alone.

Donna began to rouse herself then. "Where am I? Where the heck _am_ I?" she asked him. But he was more concerned with her wellbeing to answer properly for a few moments.

"I'll tell you in a second," he murmured. Then a nurse appeared at the door, and they were ushered into a fancy waiting area.

The room had a large window looking out onto a view of a courtyard; it had three leather sofas, numerous potted plants, several pictures on the walls and a coffee machine. "Help yourselves," the nurse told them as he indicated towards the beverages, and walked away without any further explanations.

John helped Donna get seated comfortably on the largest sofa, fussing over her, offering to collect her various drinks, and generally got on her nerves until she realised how concerned he was. "What did you find out?" she final decided to ask him as the safest option as she absently rubbed her aching head.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** This fic exists thanks to sandyosullivan who endlessly encouraged me to write this.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 6<strong>

.

He placed two cups of tea in front of them as he fought to find the best way to describe his experience. "They told me they knew us before our accidents, and that my name is Doctor John Smith; but not much beyond that. There was something about you possibly suffering irreparable brain damage from what you've been through, but they didn't tell me what, so I'm not convinced. Their main concern seems to be that we can't be more friends," he summed up what had been said earlier. "I'm still no closer to solving the mystery of what happened or why. But I believe them when they say they knew us."

"You do? Okay, that's good enough for me; Dr John Smith. Get you! A real live doctor!" she teased him with a nudge of her shoulder.

"I know! I can hardly believe that part myself," he agreed. "You don't mind really, do you?"

"Nah! Of course I don't!" She shook her head in emphasis. "Did they say what sort? You could be a doctor of philosophy for all we know; though I suppose we can assume you're a medical doctor. Shame you can't practise anymore, since it kind of helps if your doctor knows what they're doing more than half the time," she sympathised.

"They didn't tell me what type of doctor! I just don't remember," he protested; though he knew she didn't mean her teasing unkindly. He pulled her to him, and kissed her forehead; glad that they were on their own again and away from disapproving eyes. "They want us to go and have some tests to double check there are no long term effects lingering to harm us. I said I wouldn't agree to anything on your behalf. What do you think? Go for broke, or bugger off home?"

"Tricky," she agreed, sensing his unease. "Ask what tests they are exactly, and if they don't sound too ludicrous then I say let's give it a go if we might get some answers to ease our minds."

"Was that you making an awful pun?" he asked incredulously.

"Might have been." She gave him a shrug to convey vagueness. "Can you do better?"

"Are you challenging me, again?" he asked with a mock gasp of exasperation. He brought his lips close to her ear. "And you know I am always looking for ways to be better with you, in all sorts of ways."

"You cheeky git! I'll tell you what, I'll do something and you have to better it," she suggested playfully.

"Go on then," he readily agreed, waiting expectantly to see what she'd come up with.

She placed her hands on either side of his face, and drew his lips down onto her's. "Well?"

"Good call," he enthused, capturing her head within his own hands and rubbing his thumb gently across her cheek bone. He ghosted his lips near her mouth, placing dainty touches a few times before landing properly and tasting her. Waiting for her lips to part, he swooped in with his tongue to caress and tempt her in turn, groaning deeply within his throat.

Donna would have uttered his name, but she was too busy reciprocating, and enjoying the moment to do much for the time being. Kiss after kiss they shared; neither knowing nor caring if they were being observed.

The small camera within the central picture on the wall had no trouble picking up their movements. "What do you think, Jack? Are they reacting in a genuine way, or is this some act on their part?" Martha asked him as she peered intensely at the imagines on the screens before them.

Jack watched the monitor in front of him carefully, barely containing his lecherous grin. "Are we marking performance, style, content, or lovey-doveyness? Or are we going for the pure sickness factor?" he pondered. "They make me feel sick, I assure you!" He watched a bit more. "Good grief, they make that look delicious! If this is all true, I wonder if they'd be up for a threesome."

Martha merely rolled her eyes at his sexual interest. Jack was being Jack after all. "So you have doubts then?" she quizzed him.

"Of course I do! This is the Doctor we're talking about here. I've never seen him act this way before," Jack confessed. "I had wondered if he were capable, if you must know."

"My thoughts were slightly running along different lines; but I know what you mean," she agreed.

"Looks like we'll have to go in and interrupt them," Jack said slowly and reluctantly as he glimpsed back at the monitor. "Damn! Why do we always have to stop things when they start getting interesting?"

"They'll thank us later," Martha confidently replied. "They'd be mortified if they really knew what they are doing."

"Perhaps I'm the one that won't be thanking us," Jack answered. He stood and made for the waiting area, and hesitated at the door, peeping back at Martha. "What if we're wrong, Martha, and they want this? Do we have the right to stop them having a little piece of happiness?"

Martha smiled with self-assurance. "They only ithink/i they want a romance with each other for now. We're doing the right thing, Jack."

"I wish I was a hundred per cent sure," Jack remarked, and headed towards the Doctor with a heavy heart.

"You are such a wicked fairy!" he was telling Donna with a giggle, enjoying being snuggled up with her on the sofa, as Jack walked in. John noticed Jack enter immediately but he chose to wait until he was forced to. There was something about authority always made him want to rebel.

Jack gave a polite cough, much as it pained him to break them up because all sorts of scenarios came to mind as he observed them. "Have you made a decision yet?" he asked them once he had their attention.

"In a way," admitted John. "What sort of tests are you offering exactly?"

Jack began to count them off on his fingers. "A full physical check-up, blood count, CT scan, with possibly an MRI scan, x-rays or ultrasound if it is thought necessary. I assure you that nothing unnecessary will be carried out, and everything will only be carried out with your permission."

"Well?" Donna whispered to John. "Yay or nay?"

"All sounds reasonable to me," he quietly confessed. "Yes?" She nodded in reply; so John turned to Jack to respond properly. "We'll give it a go, so what happens next?"

Jack grinned with satisfaction. "A car will arrive in a few minutes to transport you to our medical facility. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so, and then you can be on your way," he said brightly. The request for a threesome that sat on the tip of his tongue stayed there… for the time being.

John and Donna held hands nervously all the way in the blacked out car to the new medical facility. They weren't exactly surprised by their mode of transport, or the fact it drove straight into the facility, giving them no real clues as to the geographical whereabouts of the place. All they knew was the fact the journey took twenty three minutes.

They were shown into a plush office with a large window that was covered in closed blinds. "This feels like a spy film," Donna commented so that only John could hear her.

He gave her hand a consoling squeeze to cover the fact he was uneasy too. "I'm sure we've been in worse… if we could remember. At least we're together."

"For now…," she replied as a nurse appeared.

"The doctor will see you now," she told them with a welcoming smile. "I believe you've already met Dr Jones today." With that, she opened a door that led through to Martha.

Martha came out to personally greet them, smiling pleasantly. "I hope you don't mind but I'll be carrying out most of your tests," she said. "If you could go with Debbie to have a blood sample taken, Donna, I'll give John a quick physical."

Donna threw John a worried frown. "It'll be okay. I'll be right in here," he told her. "Just a short distance away." He waited until she was out of sight before he followed Martha into her consulting room.

She gestured for him to sit down and open his shirt, and then Martha placed a stethoscope against his chest. "Breathe deeply for me," she ordered him. "And again… and again." She frowned as she listened carefully but didn't say another word.

"Am I dead?" he asked when he couldn't stand it any longer. He hated silences.

"What?" She shook her head as though in a daze. "You're here, just about, John. I think we might need to take an x-ray next, after I've checked your blood pressure." She grabbed up his medical notes, and scribbled something down.

He watched her movements keenly. "What's wrong with my heart?" he demanded as politely as he could. "I think I have the right to know if you are getting an echo effect."

Martha hugged the notes to her chest as though she was hiding a big secret. "That's why I need the x-ray; to confirm whether your lungs are congested," she told him. "Could you roll up your sleeve, please?"

He watched as she took his blood pressure. He knew it was a lie about the x-ray; an out and out lie, but he didn't know why he knew that. It was made worse by the fact that he suddenly felt extremely vulnerable without Donna being there; things always went horribly wrong when she wasn't there. How did he know that? Did such thoughts mean that his accident had happened because something had already wiped Donna's memory? His head hurt as he tried to think it through. It was on the edge of his brain, waiting to be accessed, if he could only trigger the right cue.

"That seems fine. You can get dressed now, John." The stern voice of Martha broke him out of his reverie.

Her abruptness concerned him. "Do you actually like me?" he heard himself ask. "Have I offended you in the past? Or is it Donna you have the problem with?"

"I don't dislike you," Martha quickly answered. "And Donna is lovely. I've always thought you were good together. I just never thought you'd become something more." She turned to look at him closely, as though she were seeing him properly for the first time. "After your daughter died I wondered if you would be drawn closer but… Are you alright? You've gone terribly pale. Do you want a drink of water?" She rushed over to place a tender hand on his arm.

Dizziness made him sway dangerously on the medical bench. "Did you say 'daughter'," he choked out. "I thought that hadn't really happened."

"I'm so sorry. She was very real," Martha softly replied as she saw him get his breathing under control.

"Donna said… she's often remembered her…" He took in great gulps of air. "What about my son?"

"Who? Oh him? He got sent away," Martha bluntly answered before she realised the effect of her words. "Don't cry, John. Please don't cry. I'm sure he's very happy where he is."

He sniffed loudly and buried his face in his hands. He had no way of controlling the surge emotions that threatened to overwhelm him suddenly. "No wonder Donna was so upset by it all," he wailed. "How will I explain to her that I lost him?" He lifted his head then, his eyes shining with tears. "Why was he sent away? What went wrong? Oh my children!"

Martha was absolutely stunned by his reaction. She had never thought he could ever get so upset by anything. "I'll go and get Donna," she announced, and almost shrieked when he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Tell me what happened," he demanded. "I want to know how I lost them both."

.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

.

"I'll explain once Donna is here," Martha insisted, and peeled his fingers off her wrist so that she could escape. And escape she did; right to where Donna was waiting outside.

Donna jumped out of her seat as soon as she saw Martha's agitated face. "What is it? What's wrong?" she demanded from Martha. "I know he's not right!"

"It's John… he needs you, Donna. I've never seen him like this before," Martha readily admitted. She had hardly got the words out when Donna was running as though her life depended on it.

She barged her way into the consulting room, determined to seek John out as soon as possible. What she found was a crumpled figure, hunched on the examination bench. Her heart leapt into her mouth at the sight of him; he looked so vulnerable in that moment that nothing on earth could have kept her from his side. Now, more than ever, she knew he needed her. Every nerve in her body could feel his emotional pain. "John? John! What's happened? What have you found out?" Donna called out the question as soon as she saw he was weeping, to draw his attention to her. She almost ran to embrace him, and he turned immediately into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"You were right; all those images were true," he said in barely above a whisper, speaking into the comfort that her hair gave him. "We had a daughter who died, and a son who was taken away from us."

"NO!" Donna cried loudly, pulling back slightly. She instantly burst into tears as denied emotions built upon each other. "Oh God, no!"

He reached up to vainly wipe away the salty traces on her cheeks. "I'm so sorry! So sorry! I failed you when you needed me most," he told her.

"No don't… Don't apologise! It was probably me that messed up. I always do," she sobbed. "How did she die? Was it the fire? Please tell me it wasn't the fire!"

"I don't know," he admitted forlornly. "They were going to tell me once you were here."

They continued to claps one another; desperately seeking comfort from the deep sadness they felt. Neither noticed the figure who had appeared at the doorway.

Jack stood watching them, trying to stay unmoved by their joint angst as they mourned for children they'd clearly forgotten on one level but were aware of on another. His heart ached for them, because he was about to make it worse for them. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward to delivery his news. "John, Donna, from what you told me once; the fact is… your daughter was shot by a maniac saving your life," Jack said pointing to John, "and as far as I know your son chose to go with Rose into an alternative universe."

"He did what? With who? Where?" Donna yelled out in horror. "Why on earth would he choose to do such a thing?"

Jack had expected them to maybe cling together for a bit; but this reaction was beyond his imaginings! They were almost melting over each other. He really didn't have the heart to tell them his final piece of news. "He thought he'd be happier there, perhaps?" Jack mused, knowing he'd be making them more distraught. "He was perfectly capable of making up his own mind."

"How can you say that? He was just a child!" Donna kept a vice-like grip on John; who seemed to welcome the embrace as he gazed, stunned, at Jack.

"I feel I should know why," John murmured. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated Jack and fought hard to bring forth the right memories. "A bargain of some sort… I wish I could remember. No, it's no use. It's gone for now." John sighed deeply. "You want us to have some other tests," he stated numbly. "Let's get this over with."

Jack nodded his agreement, and led them to where a technician took x-rays of both John and Donna, and concluded with CT scans of both their heads. The calm way John and Donna sat through it all, quietly holding each other's hand during each test, amazed Jack. He quickly decided that any other tests could wait for another day; they'd had enough for now.

Jack went off to collect the relevant paperwork for them to sign, proving they'd had the tests that day and had consented to it all; leaving them in what he'd assumed was the able attention of the technician. He'd thought wrong as it turned out.

John had noticed the technician looking very puzzled at the scans. Using the man's name tag, he asked, "What have you found, Phil? You look as if there's a problem."

Phil scratched his head, wondering if he should say anything. "It'd be just between us," Donna promised him.

"We promise not to say you told us," John added.

"We've done a few tests on you, John, as you know; and there is some weird news for you," the technician explained. "You're not human. Not completely human, that is. And it appears neither is Donna." Phil shrugged at them sheepishly. "It might be our instruments that are malfunctioning, but I've been here long enough to recognise when aliens are involved…"

Both John and Donna made a whimpering sound. This was almost too much after their earlier emotional outburst. They could feel each other floundering under this news, and checking body parts mentally to determine what classed as alien. They both thanked Phil with as much nonchalance as they could muster, saying they were sure a mistake had been made and it would be rectified on a future visit. Nobody acknowledged that they didn't believe this.

They left Phil as quickly as they could, and headed back for the main waiting area and the original consulting room. It still looked functional and unloved. "Donna, I want to get out of here. Can we go, please," John begged, his grip on her hand telling her he was more than willing to force her to leave with him. He was rapidly beginning to feel like a specimen on a microscope slide as he tried to ignore the sound of whirling metal gears that presumably moved CCTV cameras dotted about the place.

"I'll get your jacket and coat," Donna meekly answered, understanding completely. She hadn't even questioned the expanding connection she had been experiencing with him; it had all seemed so natural. "And then you're coming home with me. Forever."

"What about your mum and Wilf?" he instantly asked.

"Don't worry about them," she said with a determined sniff. "It's clear as day to me that we were an item before all the planet business happened, so they can drop the pretence now and let us live together." They grinned reassuringly at each other; both giving and receiving comfort from the other.

Jack coughed to catch their attention, and then handed John his clothes. "I'm sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news," he said. "I wish it had been different."

"We'll be alright… eventually," John replied evenly, still feeling wary of Jack. "We'd already suspected this was the case, but… but… it's harder when it becomes the truth."

"I'll come and see you in a couple of days," Jack promised. "Just to see if you're both alright."

John finished doing up his jacket at that point. "Yeah, thanks," he replied. "Say goodbye to Martha for us." He politely shook Jack's offered hand, and led Donna out of the hospital into a waiting car, praying that he would never have to step inside the place again. The whole set up gave him the creeps; especially with all the alien talk Phil had let slip. He couldn't even begin to think what all of that meant; for both him and Donna. He was hoping against hope that was some contamination of their blood samples.

The journey home was longer, but the pair of them didn't care as they sat silently slumped together on the back seat. All that mattered was the fact they were away from the medical facility and their numerous experiments.

"You're home early," Sylvia remarked when they entered the house. "I wasn't expecting you for at least an hour. Why's that?" But she didn't get much of a reply from Donna or John beyond a hello and a request for tea later. "Oi! What are you doing taking him into your bedroom? Donna! What's your game?"

Donna turned at the top of the stairs to look down at her mother over the bannister. "Mum, I KNOW, so give it a rest, will you? We're as good as married so just accept it! I'll tell you what happened today later, but for now, please, just leave us alone!"

"Well… I'll be!" Sylvia exclaimed as Donna's bedroom door slammed shut. "The little madam!" She stomped to the bottom of the stairs to shout up, "I'll be bringing cups of tea up in a few minutes so you'd better not be getting up to anything! Do you hear me?" Not that she expected a reply, but Sylvia hoped it would act as a warning to behave themselves nevertheless.

John's bravado melted as soon as the bedroom door shut behind them. "What do I do now, Donna?" he softly asked. "I thought seeking out Martha would make things clearer for us, but all it's done is add more questions. Perhaps I shouldn't have involved you; I'm nothing but trouble."

She gripped his arms to make him look at her. "Listen, John. You're going to move in here with me, we're going to find out how our memories were damaged, and we're going to make the best of a bad lot. Okay?"

"Okay," he replied and sighed. "I'm exhausted."

"I'm not surprised. Come here, you!" She reached up to throw her arms around his neck, and placed a consoling kiss on his lips.

The effect on him was startling. He grabbed her then, forcing her into a passionate embrace. He needed to feel something was real, that it wouldn't slip away from his grasp; he needed her! She returned his hungry kisses. After all the hurtful, soul-destroying images that had continually invaded her mind she needed him; he was the only image she could hold onto and believe in. Finally she had a love in her life that didn't seem imaginary or out of reach.

His attention wandered downwards, as he tried to peel away her clothing. "What? Now?" she asked, bemused by his motives for the action.

"Yes! Now!" he insisted. Good grief! He didn't know how he had resisted until now. It was no longer a desire but was a necessity. He growled with delight when her hands started to help his cause by undoing buttons. No doubt they had had tender moments in the past between them, they'd both reasoned; but now they needed a frenzied intimate moment to relieve their joint tension.

He grabbed her head so that he could plunder her mouth. He needed her to wipe away the pain; and he was certain she could, and would, do so.

"Oh John!" she gasped between attacks, as her own arousal mounted to the same level as his. Being so desired was a powerful emotion; all she wanted to do was reclaim him as hers.

They fell onto the bed as they continued to strip each other; kissing, sucking, and groaning between each layer. All they cared about was their goal that was clearly within sight. Even when Sylvia shrieked "Oh my God!" because she'd 'accidentally' walked in on them some minutes later, to find them under the bed covers. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Two very flushed faces had glared back at her. "What do you think?" Donna had snapped back. "I'd draw you a diagram but I think you get the gist from where you are."

"We'll come down for our tea in a minute," John irritably added; so Sylvia stormed out.

.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

.

Sylvia stomped back downstairs as loudly as she could, taking her anger out on every single stair tread. How dare Donna tell her they were having sex in that way! And with the Doctor of all people! Yes, she knew she was supposed to call him 'John' now, but he would always be the Doctor to her even if he spent the rest of his life calling himself John.

By the time she reached the kitchenette she had calmed down quite a lot. Okay, Donna was being disrespectful by having sex under her roof, but Sylvia knew she was to blame for bursting into Donna's room like that. She knew Donna didn't live her life like a nun, but that didn't mean she wanted to see the evidence of it. Good grief no!

She closed her eyes as she switched the kettle back on, trying to wipe away the mental image of them going at it like rabbits. Well, she'd assumed they'd been going at it like rabbits since they'd made enough noise to wake the dead. Though now she thought about it, just the sight of the two of them under the bedcovers was the least harmful image she could have seen. Thank God for small mercies. And if Donna and John were going to completely act like a married couple now, as Donna had shouted at her earlier, that might mean an actual wedding was in the offing; or even grandchildren!

Now that brought another smile to her face. Sylvia had almost given up hope of ever having grandchildren. Perhaps having John share Donna's bedroom wouldn't be so bad in the long run after all? That is, if she could persuade them to tone it down a bit in future so that they could all pretend it wasn't happening…

* * *

><p>John and Donna were enjoying their chance to cuddle together having rid themselves of some of their tension, and listening to Sylvia gradually stomp away from them in the distance. If she was leaving them alone now that meant she had accepted their active relationship on one level, otherwise she would have waded in and thrown things; like John out of the house. No, Sylvia stomping away was a good sign they mutually decided.<p>

As far as they were concerned they had every right to be together in whatever form they cared. And judging by the memories and things that been shown them that day, they were convinced they had been together for a number of years if they had been blessed with two children. Sylvia interrupting them did not deter them from enjoying their first known intimacy.

"We hardly know each other and we've ended up in bed with my mum shouting at us!" Donna mused as she idly played with the hair on the back of his neck.

"I don't think we can class what we just did as not knowing each other," he countered, smoothing his fingers down her exposed arm. "Is it only me, or can you feel me in your head too?" he asked hesitantly.

She sat up slightly then so that she could look him straight in the eye. "Ooh! No it isn't just you. I can feel your toe feeling my toe!" She giggled at him then.

He gave her a squeeze. "I knew that would be benefits to this! How about…," he started to suggest, bringing his voice low and sultry as he whispered into her ear, "that next time we test out what else we can share in this way?"

She felt a shiver of delight down her spine. "You have some pretty good ideas, mister!" She showed her agreement by kissing him slow and sensually, getting a mental buzz as her nerve endings tingled against his bare skin. "I bet that Martha would totally disapprove if she saw us right now," she mused.

"Let's not think about her," he told her, taking over the kiss to deep it. "She kept giving me strange looks when you weren't around."

"Like what?" she asked when she was able to draw breath.

"Don't know and don't care at this precise moment," he replied after some more kisses. "Are you sure your mum's okay with us doing this?"

"Yes!" she said with emphasis. "Otherwise you'd be lying dead on the front grass by now; or Gramps would have bludgeoned you to death with his telescope." She kissed the tip of his puzzled nose. "You always get instant results here; we're that kind of family."

"Nice to know," he mumbled as he paid careful attention to trailing his tongue over the freckles on her shoulder. "Do you fancy going down for tea or what?"

"What?" she immediately queried.

"I thought you might say that," he said with a chuckle, and pinned her to the bed with his body; leaving her without any doubt what he was offering exactly.

* * *

><p>"Do you hear that, Dad?" Sylvia griped to Wilf. She folded up another clean towel from the pile in front of her. "They've been going on like that for ages now. Ever since they got home."<p>

"Do you want me to go up and shout at them, Sylvia?" he asked in reply. "I can't hear much, but…" He nodded his head towards the stairs, and rustled his evening paper to add dramatic effect.

Sylvia sighed deeply. "I don't know what to do, to be honest with you. It worries me that Donna has brought him home and is carrying on as if they're married. In fact she accused me of not telling her they were like that when she got home. Can you imagine? I know I suspected as much when she was gallivanting around with him, but I never said it. Well, you don't, do you? Not your own daughter!" She finished all her folded then, and sat down next to her father. "After all that business with Lance I wanted her to find someone; someone nice and steady, and i_he_/i showed up in her life to entice her away from us. What should I do, Dad? Do I let her think they're a serious item? I know they're up there… now… doing things, but it doesn't have to be permanent."

Wilf patted her on the hand. "Stop worrying! She'll sort it all out in her own time. This is Donna we're talking about here. Since when did she ever allow us to tell her what to do? It'll all come out in the wash."

"Yes, you're right," Sylvia agreed. "What's the time?" She stole a glance at the clock on the wall. "I suppose they'll want something for their tea soon."

"What were you thinking of doing?" Wilf asked, knowing she had already accepted the idea of Donna being together with the Doctor and would no doubt welcome him into the family at the first opportunity.

"Nothing special. Something simple like bangers and mash," she admitted.

"Lovely!" Wilf gleefully rubbed his hands together. "I can almost taste your onion gravy now!"

"You won't if you don't bring some onions in from your allotment," Sylvia pointed out, smiling at his enthusiasm.

"Right oh! I won't be a tick, if you want to put the kettle on," Wilf said, hoping his request wasn't too subtle.

"Okay," Sylvia answered. "And you'd better bring some winter greens with you. John will need something to keep his strength up at this rate." They shared a laugh together at the thought, and then got up to get on with their chores.

"Evening Wilf!" John bravely greeted him when they finally made it back downstairs. "How's your day been?"

"Watcha John," Wilf greeted him in return. "Not bad, thanks. Sylvia said you'd come home early with Donna. I won't pretend I don't know what she caught you doing."

"You won't?" John blushed to the tips of his ears. "Well… we…"

"Hello Gramps!" Donna surged forward from the kitchen to kiss Wilf on the top of his head. "Mum said to let her get on with dinner alone, so I took her at her word pretty sharpish." She kept a hand on his shoulder as she walked around his chair, and then sat down next to John. "Have you been told off?" she asked him.

"No! At least I don't think I have," he admitted, stealing a glance at Wilf.

Wilf did his best to look non-menacing. "We might need to have a little man to man," Wilf supplied. "Considering all the…" He waved vaguely at the ceiling with one finger.

"Mum told you?" Donna exclaimed. She reached across and clasped John's hand. "I've no idea why I thought she wouldn't. Listen, Gramps; you don't have to pretend that me and John mean nothing to each other anymore. We've worked a few things out from our past, so I want you to know that you can pack all that nonsense in as soon as you like!"

Wilf frowned at her. "What sort of thing, sweetheart?" he asked. "What have you remembered?"

"What's that about remembering stuff?" Sylvia called out from the kitchen.

"Mum! Come in here and I'll tell you both!" Donna called back, and waited for her mother to join them. "The thing is, Mum, Gramps," she acknowledged both of them before continuing; "John and I know we had children together." She sat back then, waiting for her bombshell to bring forth some more information. Unfortunately she didn't get it.

"You had children?" Sylvia cried out, clearly startled by the news. "You had children together and you didn't tell us? Why did you do that? What else have I missed?"

"You didn't know?" Donna asked hesitantly as her heart sank. She had been relying on getting some meaning out of this piece of news from them. "But we had a girl and a boy… Are you sure you didn't know?"

Both Wilf and Sylvia shook their heads. "If we'd have known anything like that I'd have demanded photographs and everything," Sylvia stressed. "Did you have any idea, Dad?"

"None whatsoever," he confirmed. "Although, wasn't there something mentioned about a daughter once…" His voice trailed away as he remembered that Donna had once told him about a cloning machine; and had warned him never to bring it up in front of the Doctor or anyone else. The fact that Donna and John fiercely gripped each other's hand at his words didn't go unnoticed by him. "I could be mistaken," he quickly added.

"I don't think you are, Wilf," John replied when he found his voice. "We had a son and a daughter at some point in our relationship. How the two of you managed to miss out on this is beyond my understanding at the moment; but that's by the by." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "The thing is, we bumped into a woman called Martha today who said she knew us. She got us to meet a man called Jack, and they… well, they told us that our feelings about having two children were true. Donna and I are parents."

This was greeted with gasps of astonishment from Sylvia and Wilf. "What else did you find out, lad?" Wilf asked quietly.

"That our daughter was shot, by some maniac who wanted to kill me; and our son was taken away from us by some woman called Rose," John sadly answered. Donna rubbed a consoling hand over his shoulder, oozing comfort towards him.

"Rose?" Sylvia recognised that name. Wasn't that the girl who had commandeered their computer that night? "Why did she take him? Did they tell you why she was allowed to?"

"No, Mum," Donna replied when John couldn't.

"Oh Donna! This is awful!" Sylvia exclaimed. "No wonder you were so upset when you both came in. Look, about earlier… I'm sorry I barged in on you. I…"

"Yeah; I know, Mum," Donna answered.

Wilf suddenly stood up. "Just tell me how I can help you get him back, and I'll do it!" he proclaimed. "Nobody takes my great-grandson away from us and gets away with it."


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9**

.

"Sit down, Dad! You're making the place look untidy," Sylvia ordered him.

"No, Sylvia! Nobody upsets Donna and the… the… man in her life," Wild stumbled over his words, almost saying the fatal 'D' word. Donna and John distraughtly hugging each other made him keep hold of his anger at the injustice. "It's not right! They can't go around taking children away from their parents when we didn't even get the chance to know him! I'll write to our MP, I'll write to the papers; I'll even go and protest outside Number 10 if I have to." He glared angrily at her.

Sylvia smiled proudly at her father. "I know you would. But right now that doesn't help Donna and John, does it? They've lost two children, Dad! No one deserves that."

"Then I'll go down and have words with this Martha and Jack. I'll demand answers about what happened," Wilf retorted. "Where did you see them, sweetheart?"

"At the Royal Hope Hospital, Gramps," Donna told him between sniffles. "Martha is a doctor there."

"Keep my dinner warm, Sylvia, as I won't be back until I get answers!" Wilf walked determinedly out into the hallway, grabbed his coat and cap, and strode out of the house.

"Wow!" John mumbled from his hug with Donna. "Your granddad is wonderful!"

Donna kissed his forehead. "Welcome to the Noble family," she replied.

* * *

><p>It took Wilf two bus journeys to get there, but he flashed his bus-pass with pride and sat on the winding bus with a fixed stare. He couldn't believe it! Those people called themselves friends of the Doctor and they'd done this to him; to him and his Donna. It didn't bear thinking about. Just you wait until he had them face to face! He'd give them what for!<p>

Some of his spark had wilted by the time he eventually reached the reception area of the Royal Hope but he still managed to march in through the automatic doors and demand, politely mark you, that they send Dr Martha Jones down to see him. The receptionist rang a few numbers before she could give him any information; but finally she was able to tell him that Dr Jones would be down to see him as soon as possible. Wilf sat down on one of the nearby chairs expectantly.

"Hello. Wilf, isn't it? I'm so pleased to finally meet you," Martha greeted him with an outstretched hand. "I've heard so much about you."

"Hello, Martha. I've heard about you too." He returned her handshake. "I won't beat about the bush. I've come to get some answers from you," he immediately told her. "I've got two very upset people back home, and I need to know what the truth is before I do something stupid."

"Of course; I understand," Martha replied. "Follow me and we'll have a little chat."

Wilf watched Martha purposefully stride down corridor after hospital corridor, following her as best he could, until they came to a consulting room with her name on the door. She indicated a seat for him to sit on and then sat waiting for him to catch his breath. "What was it you wanted to know exactly, Wilf?" she asked him calmly. She could guess, obviously, but she wanted him to say it for himself.

"It's about the boy," Wilf puffed out, and then took a few deep breaths. "I mean Donna and John's boy. I want to know what happened to him and why he was allowed to go away."

"Oh! You don't know the story of him? I thought the Doctor would have told you… back when he brought Donna home." Martha's face softened in understanding. "He wasn't a boy, Wilf; nowhere near it. He was a full grown man," she began; and explained the metacrisis, how a hand became a man, and how the Doctor had come back to tell Torchwood that he had given his duplicate to Rose to look after in the Alternative Universe.

Wilf was stunned beyond belief. "But why send him away? Why couldn't he have stayed here with Donna?"

"We don't know," Martha admitted. "The Doctor never said. We've discussed this several times at Torchwood, and all we can come up with is that the Doctor felt that Rose deserved to have him."

Wilf felt anger build up in him again. "He was a part of our Donna and the Doctor. He wasn't a prize to give away; he was a human being!"

Martha placed a gentle consoling hand over his. "Yes he was. Only the Doctor knows the true reason for what he did. Well… him and Donna, since she had his mind in hers."

"Ah!" Wilf merely replied. He'd forgotten briefly about all the trouble that had caused. "What about the daughter they keep mentioning?"

Martha paused to ready herself. "She was born on Messaline, from a cloning machine. She came out fully formed and pressed a button that blew up half a tunnel. That was when I got separated from the Doctor and Donna, so I don't personally know what happened next. I only know what they told me later. But it seems that Donna formed a bond with the girl, named her Jenny, and got the Doctor to accept Jenny as his proper daughter." Martha began to idly play with the pen that sat on the desk in front of her as she remembered the pretty girl. "They looked like a proper little family by the time I got back to them. The leader of the people on Messaline tried to shoot the Doctor and Jenny jumped in the way to save him. It was awful! I really thought the Doctor was going to murder the man, but he didn't. He was so brave."

"Yes he is," Wilf commented, thinking of how the Doctor had behaved the night he'd brought Donna home. "So what do you think of what's happened lately? With the pair of them, I mean."

Martha sat back to think carefully. "I won't lie, Wilf. It's been a complete shock that the Doctor is suffering from amnesia. I i_never_/i thought that I'd see the pair of them behave in that way…"

"What way?" Wilf asked defensively.

"Come on, you know as well as I do that the Doctor and Donna are only friends! They've never been anything more," she replied with a knowing smile.

"Are you sure of that, sweetheart?" Wilf asked. He remembered things being slightly more ambiguous.

"Of course I am," Martha replied confidently. "Sure, they were mistaken for a couple every now and then. I even saw it happen once; but they never carried on like that in private. I was in the TARDIS with them. I'd have known."

"I only saw them at our house," confessed Wilf, "but I always thought there might have been something. Anyway; they certainly have that sort of relationship now, so there's no point in arguing about it."

"You mean all the flirting and kissing?" Martha reasoned.

"Yeah! All of that," agreed Wilf.

"It's funny," Martha said, deep in thought, "but they kept going on about Donna giving birth to two children; she never did that! Not to my knowledge. They never said any children were involved when we met at the Crucible."

"Perhaps other things got in the way on that day," Wilf suggested.

"No, we'd have found something out in our tests," Martha insisted. "There are no physical signs of Donna ever giving birth, so why she should mention babies is a mystery to me."

"To her and all," Wilf added pointedly. "She's woken us up with nightmares about them more than once. But John has worked wonders calming her down."

Martha contemplated him then, and carefully leant forward. "Wilf, have you seen a pocket watch lying about at all recently? One that looks old and worth nothing?"

"Can't say I have," Wilf answered honestly. "John hasn't moved his stuff in yet; no doubt they'll go to his digs later and get all his gear."

"What? He's moving into your house?" Martha burst out incredulously. "Already?"

"If it's right it's right," Wilf nonchalantly insisted. "It don't matter what you say, or what they were like before. Right this minute they're happy with one another, and I think that's all that counts."

"So… you're going to let him sleep in Donna's bedroom?" Martha hesitantly asked.

"Already does," Wilf answered proudly. "As far as they're concerned they're as good as married; and that's good enough for me! He cares more about her than any other man has ever done. They need each other."

"But… but… isn't it awkward?" Martha pressed him.

He gave her a shrug. "What worth anything in life isn't?" he replied. "We think they deserve a chance."

* * *

><p>Sylvia was surprised to see a taxi draw up outside and then to see Wilf climb out of it. "Since when could you afford to get taxis?" she demanded as soon as he stripped off his coat.<p>

"That Martha friend of theirs gave me the money; she insisted, so don't start!" he retorted. "I could murder a cup of tea."

"Come through, Dad, and tell me what she said," Sylvia told him as she steered him into the lounge.

He shot his gaze around the room, looking for evidence that Donna or John was still there. "Where are they?" he eventually asked.

"They've gone to watch telly in the bedroom. I couldn't stand to see them moping about so I told them to go and have an early night," Sylvia admitted. "They've been very quiet."

"It's been a tough day for them," Wilf commented. "The boy and girl they mentioned did exist, but with an alien twist; just as you'd expect I suppose." He waited for Sylvia to join him properly, laden with cups of tea and a tray with his warmed up dinner on it. Between mouthfuls of food he told her all that Martha had explained about her potential grandchildren. "It looks like we'll never get to know either of them," he finished sadly.

"It still don't seem right," Sylvia remarked tartly. "The boy, man, or whatever he is, should have come home with our Donna and not gone off to God knows where with some flibbertigibbet. I can't help it, Dad. It makes me feel bitter that we've missed out."

"I know, love. I know," he consoled her. He set his tray aside and gave her a much needed hug.

"What are we going to tell them?" she murmured against his comforting chest.

"I think they deserve the truth: that there is no way they can get him back. What else can we tell them?" Wilf really wished there was a better answer than that.

* * *

><p>The next couple of days whizzed by, as John adjusted to his new circumstances, the joy of being part of a loving home, and this expanding relationship with Donna. He felt as though all his Christmases had come at once! If only he could get rid of the nagging doubt at the back of his mind. The doubt that questioned whether he was allowed this.<p>

"Morning sleepyhead!"

He woke to find that Donna was delicately kissing his neck, heading down towards his chest. With a happy grin he rolled over to face her properly; he could get used to this very quickly! In fact he had, he realised with a smirk. "Morning gorgeous!" he replied. "What do we have planned for today?"

"I dunno. Did you need to buy anything for your new job on Monday?" she asked.

"I wonder if I can get away with asking for a beautiful ginger assistant?" he mused, stroking her cheek gently. "But for now I'd much rather make the most of our weekend lie in."

"I thought you might say that," she said with a smirk as he drew her nearer to his lips.

They'd only just started their kiss when there was a loud commotion from downstairs. Followed by frantic running up the stairs; and then the bedroom door burst open.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** I wrote this on the plane whilst squashed next to a miserable bloke from Wichita. Blame him if this is more rubbish than usual.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 10<strong>

.

There was the sound of Sylvia shouting, "Where the bloody hell do you think you are going?"

There was a "Excuse me, ma'am," then Jack burst into Donna and John's bedroom, yelling, "Doctor! We need your help! It's urgent! Really urgent!" He then realised what he had burst in on, and leered appreciatively at them. "Sorry folks. This looks very interesting; so… any room for another one?" Sylvia glared at him from the doorway.

"Jack, get out of my TARDIS!" John angrily shouted. "Why do you always have to do this to me?" He adjusted the bedcovers around himself and Donna to preserve their privacy, shooting deathly looks at Jack as he did so.

Jack fought to ignore them. "Excuse me!" Jack exclaimed. "What did you say then?"

John looked blankly back at him. "I have no idea... What the heck did that mean? Have you any idea, Donna?" He gave her a worried squeeze.

She gazed back with as much confusion as he felt. "No, that means nothing to me." She dipped lower in the bed to try and hide her predicament.

Since he was getting nowhere fast, Jack brought them back to his original query. "Sorry for busting in on you on this beautiful Saturday morning, but I desperately need your help with a massive problem."

"Which is...?" Donna encouraged him to expand on it, since it was becoming increasingly embarrassing to be ogled by this bloke she had only seen the once; and him being absolutely gorgeous was no reason for such bad manners. Sylvia snorted her disgust.

"We had someone turn up badly injured. And when I say bad, I mean really bad! He seems to have broken almost every bone in his body, and he's absolutely covered in blood!" Jack told them agitatedly. "I wouldn't have asked but this really is your field of expertise, John."

John pointed at himself. "MY field of expertise! That's a new one on me, since I have no idea what that is. No memories, remember!"

Donna soothed a hand over his shoulder, snuggled into him and kissed his cheek. "Now's your chance to find out, sweetheart. We can finally find out what sort of a doctor you are. Isn't that good?"

He smiled gently back at her. "Very good," he agreed, kissing her softly back. "Part of the mystery solved if we're lucky."

"If you two love birds are finished for the time being, do you think you could get out the bed, get ready, and we can go? Like… now? A man's life is at stake," Jack tried to cajole them into moving away from each. He tried not to be affected by John's pout in answer; that pout had always played on his affections.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, or so, Jack was joined by them downstairs; once they'd got him to actually get out of the bedroom to let them get dressed! In fact, Sylvia had personally escorted him back down the stairs and had made him wait in the kitchen where she could keep an eye on him. "Are you a friend of theirs from before?" Sylvia quizzed Jack. "You look familiar. Ooh, I know! You were on our computer screen that night when Rose was trying to get back to the Doctor." She gave a dismissive sniff, and then more quietly asked, "Did she? Was that why he left Donna here?"<p>

"Mrs Noble, I was a friend of theirs; and yes, Rose did get back to him," Jack replied just as quietly. "He left her too that night, back with her mother. As far as I know he did what he did to Donna to save her life; not to be spiteful."

"I see," Sylvia remarked; but she didn't sound totally convinced at first. "Sounds like he has a problem with people with mothers." She sighed softly, and then commented, "I'm glad he's come back for our Donna though. They're really happy together, so you'd better not spoil that! If you do you'll have me to answer to."

Jack didn't have much of a chance to reply to that beyond a friendly smile because John and Donna appeared downstairs, so he led them out to the SUV.

Like before, they weren't told where they were going exactly; but they'd been promised hotel accommodation later on, so they'd assumed it was going to be a long day. "It'll be okay," Donna whispered to John as they clasped hands in the back of another dark glassed vehicle. Why were these people so touchy about where they worked?

"Did you get my x-ray results, Jack?" John called out to him in the front seat as they drove along, partly as a means to pass the time.

"Yes John; you have a hairline fracture in his skull that we suspected has caused the amnesia. The good news was that your memory could come back in any amount, at any time, "Jack called back. He turned to smile his encouragement.

"What do you think caused the fracture?" John asked in reply, leaning forward. "Was it deliberate?"

"Ah! That bit we don't know," admitted Jack. "There was no obvious sign of what caused it; sorry."

John sank back down in his seat and looked despondently out of the car window. All they saw was an expanse of tall buildings before being led into an express elevator that flung them to the near top of Canary Wharf. "This looks familiar," John noted to Donna in a low voice. "Oh so familiar; I can hardly believe it."

"Perhaps you used to work here," she offered. "A brain like yours, you could work anywhere you like."

"No, it's more than that. I really feel as though I ought to know this place. Almost to the point of it being… creepy," he reluctantly admitted. "And worst of all, I feel that it could mean bad news for us; for you and me."

She caressed his cheek to console his downward mood. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can deal with it together," she said.

"But what if it breaks us apart?" he anxiously asked. "I don't want to live without you, Donna."

"Then I'll do my very best to make sure you don't have to," she replied as confidently as she could. "But I know what you mean about this place... It's almost ominous. Like it is waiting for us, and in a bad way."

"Stay with me at all times," he warned. "It could get sticky."

"Or is that a promise?" she asked cheekily.

He grinned back at her with a leer. "Find us a cupboard and we'll sort something out." They both giggled together at the thought of how sticky they could possibly make it. Jack pretended he hadn't heard a word.

* * *

><p>They were shown into a room where a man wearing a white lab coat was standing. "Ash, this is the Doctor John I was telling you about," Jack announced as they entered. "And this lovely lady is his... Erm... Donna."<p>

"I'm glad you put it like that, Jack," Donna remarked with glee. "Especially as we haven't come up with a formal title yet."

"I thought we had!" John interjected, reaching over to place a possessive hand on her arm. "Or is that only in the..."

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence because Donna immediate swatted his shoulder. "Watch your tongue, mister!" she playfully warned him. "Or I'll swop you in for someone else."

"You wouldn't do that! I'm too loveable." He gave her a wink, and pulled her into his embrace. The resultant scoff made him smile.

"If we could just have your attention for a few minutes, John," Jack grabbed their wandering attention. "I need you to consider a very important topic for us."

Exchanging a confused expression, John and Donna followed him into a side room, where a single hospital bed stood in the stark room. There were several life support machines around the bed, and a saline drip attached to whoever was in the bed. "Oh my God! What happened to him?" Donna cried out in shock and compassion. "Are those burns?"

"Yes," Jack replied; his voice sounding terribly regretful. "When we found him this morning his clothing had been burnt and practically torn to shreds by whatever had happened to him. He was covered in blood, and barely alive. We've done the best we can but he needs specialist attention and care."

"Then why drag us all the way here when there are numerous doctors who could have helped you with this case?" John wondered. "I don't even know what I specialise in, so how on earth can I help you specifically?"

"Let me show you," Jack answered, stepping forward to the bed and gently lifting back the bed covers until the man's face was revealed. He was just about recognisable, but only just. "He needs a blood transfusion and you are the man for the job."

Donna gasped in surprise as John leapt forward to view the man closer. "Is that my son? Donna! We've found him!" he declared.

"He's just as I saw him in my head! Oh John! Can I... Can I touch him?" she aimed the question at Jack, who nodded his agreement.

"Careful," he warned. "He's in a lot of pain. We've got him heavily medicated." Jack gave a nod to Ash to let her nearer.

"I know," she instantly told him. "He's already told me that. But he's glad... He's oh so glad we're here." She gave Jack a teary smile as she placed her hand so that there was the merest whisper of a touch on the man's cheek. "You did it, Sweetheart," she told the silent form in the bed. "You found your way home to us."

John lightly pressed his fingertips onto her shoulder, and closed his eyes; smiling softly as he did so. "Oh yes," was all he said for a short while. He was sent into a semi-trance where information swirled around in his brain, both from Donna and the occupant of the bed; filling in lots of gaps. Then John seemed to jump awake. "Come on, Jack! Let's get this blood transfer organised. I'll sort out the exact nature of it, since our blood will need some tweaking, and then Fido here will start to get back to normal."

"Fido?" Jack echoed. "Why are you calling him Fido?"

"Why not?" was the answer John gave; but no explanation.

Jack watched agog as John pottered about, humming happily to himself as Donna handed him various pieces of tubing. "Won't be a jiffy," he told the silent man on the bed. "Then you can have a nice healing sleep and be as right as rain."

Donna commandeered the computer terminal that sat on the desk in the outer room, and shouted through to John, "I found it! Let me know when you want it all transferred."

Jack was puzzled. How did they know how to do all this and yet not be aware of it at the same time? It was as if they were the same person, but split in two, as they worked away; chuckling as they solved each of their problems without saying a word to anyone. But they seemed to be communicating somehow. Could this be the infamous DoctorDonna at work? It had been pretty impressive on the Crucible, but here it was nothing short of miraculous. They had worked so efficiently that a blood filter of sorts was built and established within half an hour, extending the usage of the dialysis machine that sat in the room. "Just a few more minutes, and we'll be set," John announced to the room, though Jack assumed it was for his benefit. "Are you ready, Donna?"

She went up to him as he laid down, rigging him up to the dialysis machine. Then Donna did something that really shook Jack. She kissed the man in the bed on his forehead, and then said, "We're ready for your blood transfusion. Sleep now. See you soon, Doctor."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Some of you are going to **HATE** me for this! So here's my apology up front.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 11<strong>

.

"Doctor," Jack couldn't help faintly echoing in surprise.

She lifted her eyes but didn't shift her body away from the bed's occupant, and gave Jack a smirk. "Yes Jack. This is the Doctor. Do you remember him? Big blue box; weird alien with a babbling obsession?" she asked him playfully. She quickly averted her attention back to the man below her. "Don't you start! You _do_ babble, so don't deny it," she admonished him fondly with another kiss on his forehead.

"So you don't mind the fact that John is the duplicate Doctor?" Jack queried in his confusion. "The x-rays only showed one heart," he explained when she shot him a frown. "That was part of the bad news I was going to tell you when you both went psycho about children you'd claimed you'd had."

She looked slightly embarrassed at the mention of children. "There were children, but not in the sense that we'd guessed; which makes some of this week inexcusable… Anyway… I don't mind about John not being the Doctor at all, Jack. How could I? He exists because of me, and I exist because of him. I have never felt so fit and healthy; and it has nothing to do with the bedroom before you ask!" She gave him a tiny grin, glanced briefly at the Doctor, and then mouthed 'just a bit!' with the hint of a blush on her cheeks.

Jack laughed. He decided he would question Donna about Time Lord sex when he got the chance to talk to her on their own, away from prying ears. It could be _very_ educational! "I'm so glad you got your memory back, Donna," he said instead.

"So am I!" she replied with feeling. "You have no idea how awful it is to lose a couple of years of your life when they were the absolute best years of your life! Oh, how cruel of me, Jack! I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to dredge up your past woes."

"How did you know about that?" Jack asked in surprise.

"The TARDIS told me about your memory wipe," she admitted. "She was very concerned about you. But then only you could charm a sentient machine! Shame it didn't quite work on my mother earlier."

He couldn't believe she was actually mocking him! He could get to like her very much. No wonder the Doctor had warned him to keep totally away from her with his possessive behaviour. Which begged the question: what was going to happen to the little threesome in front of him after the Doctor had healed…? Threesome….! Mmmm.

"What are you smiling about, Captain Caveman?" Donna's inquisitiveness brought Jack out of his revelry.

"Nothing," he quickly replied.

"Nothing, eh? Yeah, I'll believe you," she snorted at him. "I've got your number, mister. Now go and put the kettle on because some important people will be wanting numerous cups of tea, if I know my Time Lords." Then she moved to press the all-important 'START' button.

* * *

><p>Several hours later Donna was still sitting grasping the Doctor's hand, whispering encouraging words, as he slept. John sat holding her other hand, offering her sips of tea, sandwiches to munch, and generally being as supportive as he could whilst she kept vigil. He knew it would be pointless to try and drag her away.<p>

Eventually Jack could bear it no longer, and asked her, "Aren't you annoyed with him? Just a teeny bit?" He had expected her to slap the Doctor to kingdom come, and all she'd done was… well, fawn all over him was too strong a word/phrase; but it was close!

Donna merely shook her head gently in reply. "How could I? Not when I know what he went through. He's explained everything to me; and he feels bad enough as it is."

"He has? How?" Jack instantly asked, since no words had passed through the man's lips.

She shifted slightly in her seat, and threw a glance at John. "I can hear him quite clearly, in my head. It's a form of touch telepathy. And before you ask again, I know… I know who he is, who John is and what happened to me."

"Oh!" Jack looked stunned and more than a bit worried. "Are you in any danger of going...?" He did a quick open hand gesture to denote exploding. "Puwar!"

John gave a small chuckle. "Not while I'm around her she won't." He placed a kiss on her cheek. "All she needed was me to be with her."

"Two halves of a whole, Jack," Donna added when she saw his puzzled expression. "Or like magnets." She turned to John to beam happily at him. "Drawn together to be complete. The Doctor saved me twice, but this time he did it by sending me John."

"I see… so how did he do that exactly?" Jack wondered as the man in the bed began to stir.

"As he heals and gradually wakes up he has also gradually restored our memories," John explained. "Once he is completely awake we will know the whole story in detail."

There was a groan from the bed, and Donna got up to wipe a cool cloth on the Doctor's forehead. "Don't talk until your vocal chords are able to cope, Spaceman," she whispered to him. "We can wait for the truth; we've waited all this time after all, so a few more minutes won't hurt."

John busied himself looking at the monitors and then detaching all the tubes. "We don't need all this anymore!" he declared smugly. "Fido will let us know if he needs anything else."

Donna laughed. "You do know he's going to thump you for calling him that, don't you?"

"Yeah," he replied with a grin. "But it will be worth it. Makes a change for him to be looked after by us; I could get used to this."

"Talking of changing, he'll need a fresh suit seeing as he's ruined this one getting back to us. Good grief! Can I cope with the sight of him in another suit?" Donna threw a hand against her brow in a mock swoon.

They both felt the tinkling laughter of the Doctor at their cheekiness.

"And you can keep quiet, mister," Donna playfully chided him, giving his arm a prod. "Just because you are almost completely mended doesn't mean you play the innocent with me. I know your tricks all too well." She was gratified to see the Doctor open his eyes and smile weakly at her. His face had almost recovered, and his skin was covered in faint scars.

"Thank goodness for Time Lord metabolism, huh?" John joined her to gaze upon the Doctor fondly. "Now we've saved each other's lives don't go all guilty on us. Do you hear me?" The Doctor tried to give his hand a thank you squeeze, and John placed his other hand over the Doctor's one to show he understood. "I'd better get you that suit otherwise you'll be running around here naked and causing Jack all sorts of problems."

_"What about Donna?"_ the Doctor asked in his mind, with more than a touch of humour.

_"Her? She's seen it all before,"_ John answered confidently. _"But I'm much more impressive."_

John left the Doctor snorting derisively at him, and went to obtain that needed replacement suit of clothing. He returned an hour or so later to find the Doctor sitting up in bed eating some porridge whilst watching Donna's favourite television soap whilst she bounced enthusiastically next to him, talking animatedly.

"See her there… she's with him but she used to be with her in the black jumper," Donna was explaining to him. "What she doesn't know is that _he_ is the long lost brother of him behind the bar. He was the one that won all that lottery money and blew it on a bar in Ibiza; or was it Benidorm? It was somewhere like that, full of drunk Brits guzzling chips."

The Doctor shook his head in mock disgust. John knew that the Doctor used to secretly love this soap too but would whinge when watching it with Donna. The phoney! Not that Donna ever believed him; he knew too much about the characters for a start. "Has she announced she's not really pregnant yet?" John asked as he approached them.

"John!" Donna's face lit up and she almost threw herself at him in delight. He happily returned her embrace as they briefly kissed. "Did you find a nice suit for him?"

In reply he retrieved the large carrier bag he had dumped by the door, opened it and drew out a navy suit that came in its own special suit-bag. "Sorry, I couldn't get a brown pinstripe for you, they're not fashionable anymore apparently according to the bloke in the shop; but I thought this navy one was nice," he apologised to the Doctor, holding up the suit to be judged. "I tried it on to make sure the size was alright."

The Doctor nodded his approval and grinned broadly. "Very nice," he rasped. "What else is in the bag?"

"Ooh, you'll like this…," John gleefully told him as he fumbled in the bag, and drew out a matching shirt and tie with a squiggly pattern, plus a new pair of burgundy Converses. "Et voila!" He was relieved to see the Doctor smiling thankfully back at him; he'd made the right choice after all. With a slightly embarrassed air he showed the Doctor the inside of the bag. "I got you underwear too."

The Doctor peered in at the boxer shorts that thankfully weren't covered in an embarrassing motif. "Thank you," he managed to say a bit more clearly, with sincerity.

Donna gave the Doctor a derisive sniff. "Are you up to having your shower yet, or shall I get Jack to give you a bed bath?" She laughed heartedly at his shocked face and rubbed a consoling hand on his knee through the bedcovers. "Don't be daft! I wouldn't really do that to you; though it's a good threat to use on you in the future." She laughed again when he glared at her.

"Talking of the future…," John began to say.

"We'll discuss it later," Donna halted him, feeling anxiety from both the men in the room. "I think we should concentrate on helping the Doctor to stand and perhaps walk to the bathroom."

"Of course," John agreed, and leapt to the Doctor's side to assist him in trying to stand.

In return the Doctor gratefully clung onto them and made his way slowly to the bathroom, and the elusive state of normality.

* * *

><p><strong>To be concluded<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Warning:** Don't look if you are a Rose lover: consider yourself WARNED!

**A/N:** I'd like to express my grateful thanks to **cassikat** for being so gracious as to let me nick an idea of hers.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 12<strong>

.

Jack returned from dealing with a spot of Torchwood bother elsewhere to see the Doctor happily sitting in a comfortable chair dressed in a new suit and looking remarkably refreshed considering what he'd been through.

"Welcome back, Doc!" Jack cried out as he rushed forward to greet the Doctor with a hug.

The Doctor stayed where he was and offered his hand to shake instead, thereby escaping the embrace. "Sorry, Jack; I'm still feeling a little fragile," he explained in a raspy voice.

"That's okay," Jack answered as nonchalantly as he could. The Doctor did indeed still look a bit weak despite his cleaned up body. He noted that the Doctor's skin was almost back to normal, and there were no grimaces of pain. "How are you feeling now?"

The Doctor touched a hand to his chest, where his heartbeats were almost normal now. "Much better, thanks. I can't thank you enough for bringing them to me and all the help you given us."

"Are you up to explaining how exactly you got here, Sweetheart?" Donna asked him softly as John placed fresh cups of tea in front of them.

The Doctor gratefully sipped his cup. "I think so," he answered hesitantly. If she was still calling him 'Sweetheart' he couldn't be completely healthy in her eyes. "But my voice still feels a little dodgy."

"Just do your best," she encouraged him, gracing him with fond smiles. He concluded that he definitely had a small way to go along the road to 'mended'.

Jack still wondered at the scene before him; he'd never thought he would see the three of them together again like this. It was a sight to gladden the heart; if not the loins. "We'll understand if you want to stop," he added, wanting to encourage any information from the Doctor.

"Well," he began, putting his cup of tea carefully down on the coffee table, "it all started with Rose, I'm afraid. She wasn't too keen on not getting the real Doctor, shall we say; so she took things into her own hands."

"Did she use violence?" Donna agitatedly asked, sensing some sort of wincing response from him.

"Not against me, as such, but…," he paused to find the right way to express himself. "I'd rather not think about it if it's all the same to you."

John placed a consoling hand on the Doctor's sagging shoulder as Donna took hold of his hand. "We understand," John told him simply.

The Doctor gave him a brief thankful smile. "She smuggled out a dimension cannon from Torchwood that she'd bribed and coerced a technician to adapt. Using the duplicate DNA she got it to home in on the original Doctor, and effectively… switched us for want of a better phrase."

"What? She did what?" John cried out in shock. "But… I don't understand!"

"She took your DNA John, strapped the device to your body and violently switched us a couple of weeks ago. You were sucked back into this universe with such force you fractured your skull and lost all your memories, even though they merged with mine," the Doctor softly explained. "I heard from several sources how she had mistreated you; and I can't help thinking that it is my fault in some way. I'm sorry… so sorry."

John gasped, and began to tremble as it all became clearer in his head. "Donna?" He reached out towards her, seeking comfort. "What about Donna, and what we've become to each other?" he asked. "Have I got to lose all that, and go back to that… that… little cow! 'Cos I don't want to go! In fact, I refuse to," he declared, standing to demonstrate his forceful intentions. "She thought I was nothing and no-one. I belong here now..."

"John, give him a chance to explain before you jump down his throat," Donna interrupted his rant; giving his leg a gentle touch in sympathy. "He won't send you away again, not if he wants to live through his next regeneration," she lightly threatened the Doctor.

"Yes, well," the Doctor said, giving them a small cough. "I'm saying all this for Jack's benefit, not as a threat to you. Where was I? I suddenly found myself flung into the alternative universe without the TARDIS and Rose jumping for joy that her plan had worked up to that point. To say I was not pleased would be an understatement. What would I want to stay there for? I'd already made my choice where she was concerned and I wasn't about to retract it."

There were concerned frowns all round. "Didn't she do anything for you anymore?" Jack asked, wanting to clarify the point.

"I'm a Time Lord, not a pet!" the Doctor testily answered. "Despite John here calling me Fido; and don't think that went unnoticed… No, I couldn't give her what she wanted when she was with me, and I certainly refused to do so when she forced me into her dimension. I made my way straight to their version of Torchwood and demanded the plans they'd used for her monstrosity. It took me a couple of days but I built my own vortex manipulator and used the Rift at their Torchwood to get back here; hence all the injuries."

"You'd rather suffer all that pain than stay with Rose," Jack reasoned in wonder. "I can hardly believe it."

"Oh yes," the Doctor replied with meaning. "All that I want is here, in _this_ world."

"Aw shucks! Does that mean you love me deeply?" John coquettishly asked with a cheeky grin.

"You, young man, are pushing your luck!" the Doctor told him, waggling a finger in his direction. "Stealing away my best friend like that."

"I noticed you didn't deny you love me," John retorted smugly. "Does that also mean you aren't angry with me?"

"Whatever for?" queried the Doctor.

"I think he is referring to us," put in Donna. "He wasn't supposed to fall into a relationship with me, was he? He was supposed to stay in order to fill in for you and, therefore, make Rose happy."

"Do you want me to go back to HER?" John blazed at Donna as she sat passively looking up at him. "Honestly? Do you? Because I thought we had something special going on. You promised me that nothing would split us up and here you are suggesting I go back to that spoilt brat who did nothing but shout abuse at me when I wouldn't…" His demeanour changed then and he sank into the nearest chair. "Don't send me away from you, please don't! I'd rather die," he finished in a small voice.

Donna tried to sniff back the tears that were coursing down her cheeks. "I don't want you to go, you numpty; but if you'd have wanted her instead I'd have let you go. I just want you to be happy." She gave a small sob.

John knelt down in front of her and grasped her hands. "I can only be happy with you; I'd be lost otherwise. I thought you knew that. As you told Jack earlier, we're two halves of a whole; you're the north to my south; the yin to my yang. And how many more lame examples have I got to use before you believe me?" He was gratified to get a hint of a smile from her. "Come here," he softly ordered her, throwing his arms around her to embrace her tightly. "I love you," he whispered into her ear before kissing her slowly; overjoyed when she eagerly returned his kiss.

"They've been like this ever since I met them the other day," Jack told the Doctor conversationally. "They just can't seem to keep their hands off each other."

"That must be a bit awkward for you, Jack; and more than a little bit galling," the Doctor mocked him. "I take it that they refused your threesome offer."

"How did you know about that?" Jack exclaimed. "Oh, the mind thing… Yeah, I got turned down by them; and Sylvia, before you ask."

"You didn't?" The Doctor laughed at him openly. "It's a good job you still have your Welshman. Yes, I know about him; I keep my own tabs on people."

"What about you, Doctor?" Jack asked as Donna and John showed no sign of stopping their passionate embrace.

"Me? I have some new family it seems, a possible wedding, nieces and nephews to expect… Oops! I shouldn't have let that one out," the Doctor answered sheepishly.

"Family?" Donna broke from John to ask. "Does that mean you'll be sticking around to visit us often?"

"My dearest Donna, I plan to do lots more than that; if you are willing, of course," he answered with his trademark megawatt grin.

She gasped; and her hands flying up to cover her mouth. "You mean…? Really?" she asked after a few moments.

"Yes!" the Doctor replied with a high-pitched whine.

Joy burst out all over her face and she raced over to lunge at him, throwing her arms around his neck and squealing happily. "I bloody love you!" she cried, and they bounced about joyfully.

Jack walked across to stand next to John as Donna and the Doctor ecstatically swopped possible future destinations in the TARDIS together; oblivious of anything or anyone else. He drily observed to John as they watched this exchange, "She doesn't suspect a thing, does she?"

"No," John quietly responded. "She thinks it's all from her."

"What are you going to do if he makes a move?" Jack asked softly. "It could get awkward."

John sighed. "It could also get interesting, as well you know, Jack. I'll cross that bridge when we come to it; but for now I'm hoping he'll do what he did last time: absolutely nothing."

"There's a lot to resist there," Jack mused, as he flicked his gaze appreciatively over Donna. "Especially when you take the Time Lord mind stuff into account."

"It's going to be fun; there is that," John agreed.

"Just let me know if you ever want to consider extending that fun," Jack told him, lightening the mood into playfulness. You never know, there might be an opportunity in the future with one of them if not all three; though he'd be perfectly happy with two of them now he came to think about it...

John gave a low chuckle and then moved away from Jack to shout at the Doctor, "Oi! Put her down!"

The Doctor dutifully stepped back and Donna batted at his chest, clearly delighted with his show of jealousy. "Don't be so daft, John! The Doctor was only telling where we could all go together. Is there anywhere in particular you fancy?" She smiled her sweetest smile at him.

He placed an arm possessively around her waist. "Anywhere with you would be fine by me." He drew her closer to whisper into her ear, "Just tell me where and when and I'll make the most of it."

"I like the idea of that," she commented. "Though it almost sounded like a proposal."

He leant in especially near to say in a low sultry voice, "Perhaps it is."

"Oh!" Her mouth formed a perfect O as she let his words sink in. As always there was only one answer to that. She grabbed his head and snogged him senseless.

THE END


End file.
